After The Leyline: The Continueing Adventures of The Outlaw Star
by Memphis4510
Summary: With Melfina now free of the burden of being the Maiden of the Leyline, the crew of the Outlaw Star faces new adventures and challenges.
1. Dreams of An Unknown Past

Dreams of an Unknown Past

One month after their adventure at the Galactic Leyline, the crew of the Outlaw Star returned to Sentinel III for a second time. Gene had decided to set it up as their home base again, after being fined and imprisoned for a short time when the crew came back the first time. He'd found it funny that the traffic controller had been involved in the pirate attack that had forced them to leave without proper clearance. Once the dock fees and other paper work had been taken care of, the three of them returned to the old shop to begin reordering their lives on Sentinel III.

"We're finally back." Jim said as he sat down on the couch. Melfina had a long look on her face and said, "It seems kinda lonely without Aisha and Suzuka." Gene just waved it off and said, "Don't worry, they'll be back and you still have us." Melfina nodded and said she was gonna go start dinner. "What's on the menu for tonight?" Jim asked as his stomach growled. "I think I'll make some of that stew Aisha gave me the recipe for." "Sounds good." Gene said as he set a magazine down on the table. "Call me nuts, but I miss that crazy cat." He said with a smirk. Jim nodded and said, "Yea, I know what you mean. But hey, she said she'd drop by once she finishes her report for the Empire."

After dinner, Melfina yawned very loudly and said, "Well, I think I'm going to bed. Goodnight." She gave Gene a kiss then went up to bed. Jim grumbled a little then asked, "So Gene, you want to go to Clide's? Gene laughed and said, "Why? So I can see Iris and get a bottle broken over my head, no thanks." Jim laughed then said "Good point. It's kinda strange being back on Sentinel after all this time." Gene yawned a little and said, "It is a little weird, but with everything that has happened, I just need some time to cool off." He paused and smiled, "Ya know, I'm really happy for Melfina. Now that all this Leyline stuff is over; now she can just go on with life." Jim smiled and said, "Yea, I just hope she can put up with you and stay with us." Gene shot him a quick look and said, "Ah bite me. You still think of her like your mom don't you?" Jim just shrugged and blushed a little. Gene laughed and said, "It's okay bud, she's important to both of us." Gene yawned again, "Well I'm about to pass out, Gnight Jim." Jim closed his computer and told Gene good night as they walked up the stairs together.

A few hours later Gene and Jim were both wakened by the sound of Melfina crying out in her sleep. They ran to her room to find her tossing and turning crying, "No! Stop, why are you doing this to me." Gene sat down on the side of her bed and said, "Mel wake up. Melfina!" She snapped awake and began looking around the room. "It's okay Mel, it was just a dream." Jim said, the concern evident in his voice. She shook her head a few times then said, "I…It was so strange… so real, almost like a memory." "Do you want to talk about it?" Jim asked as he started toward her bed. "Jim, let's let her get some rest, okay. Go on back to bed." Gene said lightly. Jim started to say something but Gene cut him off with "Now Jim." Melfina smiled and said, "It's okay Jim, I'm fine." Jim just shrugged it off and went back to bed. Melfina leaned against Gene as he asked, "Was it the same as before, or has it changed again?" Melfina shuddered and said, "It was a litte different. Before I saw Nguyen Khan I was walking through a park with someone, I didn't see their face though; Gene why do I keep having these dreams?" Gene took a deep breath and then said, "Mel, I'm starting to think that they're memories. They started a week after the Leyline and each time, they get more detailed. I think that after the Leyline programming was completed, something, I don't know, opened up, from before." Melfina turned to look at Gene's face. "But how can that be? I'm not really human, I'm a bio-android." She asked with an uncertain tone. "Mel, I started doing some research after the first dream. There have been experiments, by people like Khan, working with cybernetics. They'd implant computer like devices in people and try to program them. The rarely succeeded but I think Kahn did. I think these "dreams" are memories from you human life before Khan made you the Maiden of the Leyline." It took Melfina a few moments to respond, "So you think there's a chance I'm actually… human?" Gene nodded. "It's hard to believe. I've always thought of myself as a construct, an artificial person and now to think of myself as something else…" Gene cut her off he looked her square in the eyes and said, "Hey, remember what we talked about. You are you; it doesn't matter to me if you're one or the other. Let's just try to get some sleep and worry about this tomorrow, okay?" Melfina nodded and then asked, "Will you stay with me tonight?" Gene nodded and Melfina scooted over and he laid down next to her. She quickly fell asleep while Gene just laid there watching her sleep. She rolled over and put her head on his chest and sleepily said, "I love you." Gene smiled and whispered the same to her.

Jim got up the next morning and went to wake Gene, only to find an empty bed. He shook his head as he walked down to Melfina's room. He opened the door to find Melfina lying curled against Gene. Jim just walked in a popped Gene on the head to get him up. They all went down stairs and Melfina got breakfast going while Jim glared at Gene. "Hey she asked me to stay. Ask her if you want." Jim just rolled his eyes and said, "Whatever." Gene waved his hand as he said, "Look Jim, all of this aside, I need you to do something for me. I need you to find me an expert on A.I." "What for?" Jim asked. Gene nodded toward Melfina and said, "Mel and I need to figure some things out." Jim gave Gene an odd look and then said, "About her dreams? I hate thinking about her this way but bio-androids are made to be just like humans; nightmares and all." Gene nodded then said, "That's problem Jim; I don't think Mel is an android. I think she was human at one point and that these "dreams" are actually memories from her human life." Jim looked back at Melfina working in the kitchen, then said, "I've never heard of anyone pulling off an experiment like that. Is it possible?" Gene shrugged and said, "Who knows what's possible anymore, a month ago, I was dead." Jim nodded and said, "I'll get to work on it after breakfast."

Not long after breakfast was over Jim got a repair job out in the wheat fields not far from where they first fought the pirates with Hilda. Gene and Melfina spent the day shopping; Gene for ammo and Melfina for groceries. They all got back to the shop around sundown. "Hey Gene, Mel; I brought in 500 wong from the tractor job. Were you able to find any caster shells Gene?" "Good, we need the cash. I got a couple, but they are getting harder to find. Did you get a chance to look into what we talked about before breakfast?" Jim nodded and said, "I got word that the best artificial intelligence engineer is going to be on Heifong next month. Mmm, hey Mel, what are you cooking in there?" Melfina looked up from her cookbook and said, "Oh hey Jim, I found a nice roast in the market today while I was out with Gene." Gene looked up and said, "Hey Mel, come here for a minute, we need to talk about something." Melfina sat next to Gene on the couch and asked, "What's up?" Gene took a deep breath and said, "I had Jim do some research on artificial intelligence and he found that the supposed best A.I. engineer is going to be on Heifong next month. Now, I'm just as concerned about your dreams as you are. You say the word and we'll load up the ship, but I want to make sure that it's what you want, regardless of what this man has to say. What do you think?" Melfina looked worried for a moment the she smiled and said, "I think it will be better to know one way to the other. Besides, it won't change how we feel about each other." This made Gene blush a little and he shot a sideways glance at Jim who looked angry. "Then it's settled, we'll leave for Heifong in two weeks." Melfina smiled and asked Gene to come help her in the kitchen. Jim got up to go work on Efrau.

Once Melfina was sure Jim had closed the door she looked seriously at Gene and said, "Should we talk to him about us? As smart as he is he has to have figured out that we love each other." Gene shook his head and said, "Mel, I don't think it will do any good. For one, he's used to me being a total womanizer and two…" Mel looked at him, "Go on." Gene sighed and said, "You remember that night, not long after we landed back here on Sentinel the first time, when you couldn't sleep?" Melfina nodded and asked, "Yes, why?" Gene shifted a little and said, "Not long after you nodded off on my shoulder, I well… rubbed your leg and Jim saw me. Then he hit me over the head and pushed me off of the couch. He got on and curled up next to you. He told me you were like his mom. You have to understand, Jim loves you too, in a different and very protective way. If anything, you'll have to talk to him." Melfina just blinked a few times then said, "Wow. I don't know what I'd tell him." Gene laughed and said, "You know firsthand that when it comes to love I'm pretty much a complete idiot, so I'm afraid you're on your own. But if anything, just be honest; about us and the way you feel for him." Melfina nodded, "The roast should be ready to come out in about ten minutes, keep an eye on it for me please." Gene nodded then said, "Good luck."

Melfina went out to the garage to find Jim working on something underneath Efrau and when she came over she passed him the wrench he asked for. He then slid out from under the car and asked if dinner was ready. Melfina shook her head and said, "Almost. Jim I wanted to talk to you about something. Jim you're pretty much the smartest person I know, so why do you get angry when Gene lets his feelings for me show? You know that we love each other, even if Gene has a hard time saying it out loud." Jim's expression changed to a shy but serious one. Then he said, "I trust Gene with my life; he's saved it enough times that I ought to. I just have a hard time trusting him with… you. I don't want you to get hurt is all." Melfina thought for a moment then said, "I trust him too Jim he saved me from the pirates after all. And you know how protective of me he is, he'd never hurt me, and I know him well enough to tell when he's joking about things. Is there another reason you don't want two of us to be together?" Jim couldn't look Melfina in the eye after that. He just looked at the ground shifting his feet trying to find the words to say. While still searching for the right words Melfina broke the silence and said, "You know I love you too Jim. No matter what happens between Gene and me, you'll always have a place in my heart." Jim sniffled a little as he walked over to Melfina and hugged her tightly. Melfina hugged him back and they just stood that way for a little while. "Jim what was your mother like?" Melfina asked, hoping she hadn't bitten off more than she could chew. Jim cleared his throat and said, "She was a lot like you, from what I can remember, she died when I was little. I remember she was pretty, kind and always cared about the people around her." Melfina smiled and asked, "Will you lighten up on Gene some now?" Jim looked up at Melfina and said, "Yes. I just want you to be happy; and safe." Melfina moved out of the hug and started toward the door and said, "Thank you Jim. Now come on, dinner should be ready."

The three of them sat and ate dinner in a pleasant mood and talked about the upcoming trip to Heifong. When dinner wound down Gene asked Jim how the ship was doing for supplies. Jim said, "Fully stocked on food and we're good on ammo, By the way, while I was working on that tractor I noticed a pretty big plot of land for sale. It wouldn't be cheap to buy but if we did, we could build a hanger for the Outlaw Star and keep it there when we're staying put for a while." Gene rolled the idea around a little then said, "Hmm sounds like a good idea, but how much would it be just to buy the land?" Jim pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and said, "About 200k. To do it right the hanger would cost a little more than the land." Gene did some counting then said, "So what, about 450k?" Jim nodded and said, "Somewhere around there." Gene took one more bite of the roast and said, "We've got about 250,000 in the hold now, if the land is still available when we get back from Heifong we'll see if we can make a deal. So Jim, are we okay about me and Mel?" Jim shrugged and said, "Yea, I guess." Gene smiled and said, "Good because she's going to be sleeping in my room from now on." At this, Jim's jaw almost hit the table. Melfina spoke up and said, "Being close to Gene helps me sleep Jim. For some reason I feel calmer when he's near."Jim just shrugged and said, "Yea sure…grownups." Gene and Melfina both laughed at that. Over the next two weeks Melfina dreamt only pleasant dreams of fields and flowers, and of being with her friends.

While welding a seam on the hull of the Outlaw Star Jim heard a voice behind him say, "So you think you're just gonna blast off without me?" Jim spun around so fast he almost dropped the welding torch on his foot to find Aisha standing on the walkway beaming at him. "AISHA!" he yelled as he ran to give her a hug. Aisha laughed and asked, "How ya doin buddy?" Jim said, "Better now that you're here. So did the Empire give you your old rank back?" Aisha tilted her head and said, "Actually I'm on sort of a paid vacation. When they need me, they'll call. Now what do you mean "better now that I'm here" have you and Gene been fighting or something?" Jim laughed and said, "Or something. It's just been awkward with Gene and Melfina." Aisha laughed and said, "Getting serious aren't they? I knew the first time I saw them they were in love, we Ctarl-Ctarl can smell these things ya know?" Jim shuffled a little then said, "Yea it's always been pretty obvious but now that they know how they feel for each other… I don't know." Aisha giggled and asked, "Jimmy, are you jealous?" "NO WAY! I don't think of Mel like that. She's like my mom is all and I just worry about her getting hurt. I know I know, Gene wouldn't hurt her, just call me paranoid." Aisha smiled and said, "Ah, don't worry, It'll work out. So anything you need some beast-girl strength for? Jim" shook his head, "No, once I finish this seam, we'll be ready to go." Aisha nodded and asked, "So where to, More treasure hunting?" "Talk to Gene, he's in the engine room." Aisha nodded, "Kay, see ya in a bit." Jim waved as she went into the ship.

Melfina gave Aisha a big hug when she came on board. She went and found Gene working with Gilliam in the engine room and they caught up on things, then when Gene finished arguing with Gilliam they went to the kitchen for a snack and discus the trip. After Gene and Melfina finished explaining what had been going on with the dreams and the theory that Melfina was actually human, Aisha just sat there blinking for what seemed like an hour. After a few more minutes Gene laughed and said, "I've missed that expression." Aisha snapped out of it and said, "It's just hard to believe, not that it would change the way I think about you Melfina, you'll always be my friend, it's just…wow." Melfina laughed and said, "It's alright Aisha, I have a hard time believing it myself, that's why we're going, to find out one way or the other." "I too find this interesting." said a voice from behind them. They spun to find Suzuka standing behind them. "Where did you come from?" they asked in unison. "I arrived not long after Aisha. I've been standing here the whole time you've been talking. I've heard of the Cybernetic experiments but never one like what you're talking about. You people really are an interesting bunch." Suzuka said as she sat down. Aisha smiled and said, "Looks like the gang is back together." Gene chuckled and welcomed Suzuka back then yelled, "HEY GILLIAM!" The pink bot came into the kitchen and said, "Yes, Gene?" "Why did you let her in without asking one of us first?" Gene asked, to which Gilliam responded, "Suzuka is a registered member of the crew of the Outlaw Star so no permission was necessary for her to board." Gene just sighed, "Whatever." Jim had come in by now and was laughing with everyone else at Gene's expression. Melfina stood up and said, "Hey Jim, come with me to the market, we're going to need more food, especially with Aisha on board." Jim hopped up and said sure.

That night they all had a large dinner back at the Starwind and Hawking shop and reminisced on good times. It made Gene nervous when Aisha brought up when he had fallen in to the spring she was bathing in on Tenrei, but Melfina just laughed. After dinner was over Gene and Jim played a quick poker game, which Gene quit after losing two hands in a row, Aisha was snoring on the couch and Suzuka had gone outside to meditate. Then Gene stood and said to the group, "Well everyone, we need to get some rest, we're off for Heifong at noon tomorrow." Everyone said their goodnights and Aisha shared Jim's bedroom while Suzuka preferred to sleep in the spare room.

Gene and Melfina went to their bedroom and talked for a while. Gene had been going back and forth over this issue for some time now but he decided that it was time. Right after they both had lain down and begun to get comfortable Gene whispered to Melfina, "Will you marry me Melfina?" Melfina blushed and kissed him. "Of course." Was all she had a chance to say before they were both shocked by a cry of "WHAT!" from down the hall. "Damn Ctarl-Ctarl." Gene sneered, while Melfina just laughed and said, "We might as well go tell everyone before she does." Gene nodded.

Gene and Melfina called everyone downstairs and everyone sat down wondering what was going on, except Aisha. Gene got up, went over to the Ctarl-Ctarl and bopped her on the head and whispered so only she could hear, "Mind your own business you damn cat!" She just rubbed her head and giggled. Suzuka then said, "Is there a reason you woke us all up?" Gene laughed and said, "Yes, I forgot how good that cat's hearing was." Jim rolled his eyes and said, "Just spit it out. You'd better have a good reason for breaking my bed Aisha!" This made Aisha blush and giggle even more. Gene cleared his throat and said, "Alright, I asked Melfina to marry me, and she said yes." Melfina smiled shyly and nodded, Aisha just started purring and Jim's head hit the table as he said, "And just when I was starting to get used to you two being together." Suzuka offered her congratulations and returned to the spare room. Gene stood with Melfina and said, "Okay, back to bed, we have to get up early and prep for launch." Aisha jumped over and hugged Melfina then went back to Jim's room to help him rebuild his bed. Gene and Melfina looked at each other for a few moments and then just laughed as they started back toward their room.

The next morning they left for the space docks. Once they were onboard the Outlaw Star they began all of the pre-flight checks and finally strapped in and requested launch clearance. Right before they took off Gene smiled and mumbled to himself, "Here we go again." Once clear of Sentinel III's gravity well they made the first of three sub-ether jumps. While waiting for the Ether Drives to cool, Melfina prepared a nice lunch and everyone just relaxed. Gene stood up and told everyone he'd be back in a sec and went back to his quarters. When he came back he looked at Melfina and said, "I figured you should have a ring seeing how as we're engaged." And he held up a small band with a large pinkish stone. The rest of the crew just stared as he put it on Melfina and kissed her. Jim was the first to speak, "Hey Gene is that Dragonite?" Gene said, "Yea, I thought it would make a nice ring." Jim gawked a little then said, "I'll say. Dragonite is pretty much the most valuable substance there is! Where did you get it?" Gene just kept looking at the stone and said, "It's a piece from my dad's cargo. Some of it ended up in the escape pod he put me in during the attack on our ship." Melfina kissed him again and said, "Thank you." Gilliam came over the com system and said, "Please return to the cockpit, the ship is now ready for sub-ether travel."

With everyone back at their stations the Outlaw Star dove into the Ether twice more. After exiting sub-ether space they were in the Heifong system. "Hey Jim, our appointment with this Dr. Moritsugu is at 3 tomorrow right?" Gene asked. Jim told him, "Yep." Gene nodded and said, "Alright, Jim contact the space port and get landing permission. Let's take her down."

Once they had landed, Jim booked them rooms in a hotel close to the Heifong Expo Center, where they were to meet with Dr. Moritsugu. They were sitting in the dining room when Jim's PA went off. Gene burped then asked, "What's up Jim? Is there a problem with the ship?" Jim shook his head and said, "No, a big bounty just came up, here in the Heifong area. Some guy named Kazuhiro held up a couple of banks and killed a few members of the Space Forces in the process. He's got a 100k ticket on his head." Gene shrugged, "I might look in to it after the doctor tomorrow." Suzuka set her tea down and said, "I know Kazuhiro, I'll take care of it while you go see this doctor and we can split the bounty." Gene thanked her and then called Jim over. "What's up?" Jim asked as Gene bent down very low. Gene whispered very quietly, "I want you to go into town and find some catnip. I want to get back at that goofy cat." Jim shook his head and said, "Wow, that's low, even for you. Think about how strong she is. Do you really want to see that hyped up on catnip?" Gene scratched his chin and said, "Good point. I'll have to come up with something else. Maybe I'll lock her out of the ship the next time it rains?" Jim rolled his eyes, put a hand on Gene's shoulder and said, "You need help Gene, I mean it this time."

After dinner everyone said their goodnights and went to their rooms. Gene noticed that Melfina was having a hard time getting comfortable and said, "You nervous?" Melfina turned over and looked at him. She looked like she had been crying. Gene whipped her face off and said, "Hey don't worry about it that much, you're you and that's all that really matters." Melfina sat up and said, "I know, but what if I really was born a human? What happened to my family? Where am I really from and who was I before? My mind won't stop racing." Gene put an arm around her waist and said, "Mel if you were born human, then maybe this doctor will know how to unlock your memories. I don't know the answers to those questions. If it helps, then think about it this way; if Nguyen Khan hadn't made you into what you are now, we never would have met. Now give me a kiss and try to get some sleep." She kissed him and said, "Thanks Gene, you always know how to calm me down." She kissed him again and they both settled in to sleep, not knowing what new revelations the new day would bring. The next morning they all woke up excited and curious. Suzuka left a note at the front desk saying that she was out hunting Kazuhiro. Everyone went down to the dinner in the hotel and order breakfast, except Melfina. Gene noticed and asked if she was feeling okay. "I just don't have much of an appetite today. I just want to go see Dr. Moritsugu." Gene nodded and said, "I understand, let me pay the bill and we'll head out." Gene asked Jim and Aisha if they were coming, they said they were going to check out the expo. "Call me when you two get done" Jim said firmly. Melfina smiled and said, "Don't worry, we will." Gene put a hand on her waist and said, "Okay, let's go."

Gene and Melfina got up from the table and made their way to the lobby of the hotel and hailed a cab. It took about ten minutes for them to get there. There was a technology fair going on so it was very busy. They finally made their way to where Dr. Moritsugu was putting on his demonstration of cybertechnology. Gene made the introductions and apologized for being late. The doctor closed his exhibit and led them to a private office. Dr. Moritsugu sat down at his desk and said, "It's nice to meet the both of you. As I'm sure you know bio-androids are designed to be almost identical to humans. Have you brought the subject with you?" Gene laughed at this. He himself couldn't tell Melfina was an android when they first met. Melfina smiled and said, "I'm the subject sir. Something happened about a month ago and I've started having very vivid dreams, each time they become more detailed. Gene and I believe I may have been human at one point, and then a doctor named Nguyen Khan made me what I am now. I act as a central part of the navigation system for a ship he was part of building. We were hoping that you could clear some of this up." Dr. Moritsugu stiffened when he heard Khan's name then said, "Such experiments have been attempted in the past but almost always failed. But if anyone could pull it off, it would have been Khan. You should go and ask him." "He's dead." Gene said shortly. He then asked, "Is there any kind of test you could do to determine Melfina's origin?" The doctor thought for a moment then said, "Before we go any further I would like to know what happened a month ago." Gene shot Melfina a nervous glance then said, "Let's just say her program objective was completed. Will that suffice?" Dr. Moritsugu nodded and said, "Ah, yes I suppose. It may be possible by looking at a sample of her DNA. A Bio-Android's DNA carries certain traits, because it is synthetic. I will try but these traits are very hard to spot." Gene and Melfina thanked him in unison and then the doctor asked for a blood sample to begin the test. Dr. Moritsugu then took them out to a portable laboratory and began testing the blood. It took several hours before he sigh and said, "That crazy old fool did it. Melfina, you are a human being, not a Bio-Android." Melfina almost feinted when she heard this. "I'm… human." Dr. Moritsugu did a few more tests and found a small implant at the base of her neck that contained the computer mechanisms that let her interact with the ship. He explained his findings to Gene and Melfina. "Can you remove the chip?" Gene asked. Dr. Moritsugu shook his head, "The chip is integrated with her nerves in such a way that tampering with it would most certainly kill her. I'm sorry." Melfina smiled and said, "That's okay, without the chip, I wouldn't be able to help with the ship. Doctor, is there anything you can do to restore my memories?" Again the doctor shook his head, "I'm afraid not Melfina. The process Khan used to integrate the circuits with your nerves caused a severe case of amnesia. If they do come back, I'm afraid they will be in bits and pieces, like the dreams you have been experiencing. I would suggest that you start to keep a journal of the dreams, it might help you piece together some of your past. I can tell you that you are twenty-two years old though." Dr. Moritsugu handed Melfina a card and said, "You can reach me here at any time should you have any further questions." Gene and Melfina thanked him and said their goodbyes.

Once outside the expo center they decided to walk back to the port. "I still can't believe it…" Melfina said and trailed off. Gene stopped and Melfina turned to see him looking at a flower bed in the park they were walking through. Melfina walked back to him and held his hand. "What is it Gene?" she asked quietly. Gene chuckled a little then said, "I was just thinking about when we were on Blue Heaven and you were thinking about how you were like the flowers, artificial. So much has changed since then. It's hard to believe that that shy, innocent little thing I saw comparing herself to fake flowers was you." Melfina laughed and said, "So am I not innocent anymore?" Gene turned red and said sharply, "And you and Jim wonder why I don't talk about my feelings, you always make fun of them!" Melfina shrugged and said, "Come on, I know what you meant. So what now? I'm human, big deal. Let's continue like we were, living and working together. Treasure and bounty hunting, the only difference is that we'll be married." She said with a laugh. Gene and Melfina sat down on a bench and talked for a while. "I know I don't say it as much as I should but it really does feel good when I tell you I love you. What do you feel when you say it to me?" Melfina leaned against Gene and said, "I feel right, kinda like I've found a missing piece of a puzzle." Gene nodded and said, "I know. I love you." Melfina looked up at him and said, "I love you, too." They sat there in the park for a while then shared a long kiss and went back to the hotel. "So what should we tell the others?" Melfina asked as they walked. Gene shrugged and said, "Hell, let's just tell them everything; I think it will be simpler that way." "Yea, you're probably right. I wonder how Jim will react. I knew he cared about me, but he thinks about me like a son would his mother." Gene chuckled and said, "It won't change. He's felt like that since the first time we brought you back to Sentinel." The two of them got back to the hotel right around sundown. Right as Gene reached for the door handle he realized he was supposed to call Jim once they had finished with Dr. Moritsugu. "Great, he's gonna be pissed." He said as they walk in. They checked with the clerk and found that Jim and Aisha hadn't returned yet. Gene and Melfina went up to their room and Melfina contacted Gilliam. "Gilliam would it be difficult to change Gene's quarters into a room big enough for two?" she asked. "Not at all; once we are in zero gravity I will be able to make the room into one bed room if you'd like. There is room in the spare hold to make it into a new crew quarters." Melfina turned away from the computer and asked, "What do you think Gene? We'd be able to sleep together comfortably on the ship." Gene nodded and said, "Sounds good to me. Gilliam, how long will the modifications take?" "No more than three hours, but you will have to buy a new mattress." Gilliam replied. Gene told him to go ahead and order one, he also said, "I want you to begin what work you can while still on the planet." "Very well." Gilliam replied and Melfina ended the call.

Gene called Jim and told him and the girls to meet them at the hotel restaurant. As Gene and Melfina were making their way down the stairs Melfina asked, "So Gene, are we going to be on Heifong long or do you want to go back to Sentinel?" Gene shrugged and said, "At this point, I'm not really sure of anything, Mel." Melfina nodded and said with a chuckle, "I know what you mean. But I'm sure I could use another kiss." Gene said "Yes ma'am" as he bent to kiss her. They arrived at the restaurant to find Jim Aisha and Suzuka sitting at a table. The two sat down and ordered, then Jim popped and said, "Okay, spill it! What did that doctor tell you?" Gene looked at Melfina and winked, "Nope. You'll have to wait until after dinner." Jim's head hung a little. He then said, "Ah come on. Mel?" She smiled and shook her head. "Let's just have a nice dinner and then we can talk." Aisha sighed and said, "You two are mean." The food arrived shortly after that last comment from the Ctarl-Ctarl and she seemed to completely forget anything existed other than the food in front of her. She let out a thunderous burp then said, "Ah that was good." Jim stood and looked Melfina in the eyes and said, "Okay, now spill it!" Melfina smiled and said, "I'm human. Dr. Moritsugu said there was no mistaking it. My cells are 100% natural. He also found the implant Nguyen Kahn put in me so I could work with the ship." Jim went over and hugged Melfina while Aisha and Suzuka offered their congratulations. Jim took his seat and then said, "So the dreams you've been having since the Leyline are memories. Was the doctor able to restore the rest of your memories?" Melfina shook her head. "No, he said that the way Khan worked the circuits in with my nerves caused a really bad case of amnesia. But I don't need those memories. I have plenty of happy ones with you all." Aisha asked if the doctor was able to remove the implant. She shook her head again and said, "No, it would be too dangerous to try, and besides, without it, the Outlaw Star wouldn't work right." Suzuka sat down her tea and asked, "So, what has this knowledge changed? Do you think differently of yourself?" Melfina thought for a moment then said, "No. It's like Gene told me after the Leyline. I'm me, that's all that matters. I just needed to know what was causing those dreams. Some of them were of when Nguyen Khan was kidnapping me, so I was worried. But now that I know what they really are, I'm not worried that something is broken inside me. Suzuka smiled and said, "I'm happy for you Melfina. And don't trouble yourself over the lost past. Some things are better left forgotten." Melfina smiled and said, "Thank you, Suzuka. And I was thinking, if Khan hadn't changed me, I would have probably lived a normal life, but none of you would be in it, so in a way, I'm glad he took me."

All of them nodded. They spent the rest of their time at the restaurant talking about the different experiences they'd shared since meeting. Gene started to ask the waiter to bring some wine, but then he remembered the one time Aisha had gotten drunk and decided not to. Gene then asked, "Well guys, where to? I don't really care where, I just feel like going somewhere." Melfina's eyes sparkled a little as she said, "I have an idea. It would take about five days to get there but I think I need to go." Jim tilted his head a little and asked where, but she just shook her head and said, "That part's a secret. What do you think?" "Sounds good to me, and the time spent in space will let Gilliam set up the bedroom faster." Gene replied. "What bedroom?" Jim asked. Gene shrugged and said, "We're just having Gilliam modify the crew quarters a little." Jim nodded and said, "Makes sense. So when are we leaving?" They agreed to leave first thing in the morning. Suzuka paid the tab with the bounty she'd gotten and they went up to their rooms and slept through the night.

Early the next morning they returned to the ship and began launch preparations. "Gilliam, has the container I ordered arrived?" The pink bot slid in front of her and said, "Yes Melfina, I installed it as you requested." Melfina nodded and thanked him.

Gene received launch clearance and soon the Outlaw Star was under way. With Gilliam running the ship on auto pilot the crew prepared for bed. By this time Gilliam's bots had finished the remodels Melfina and Gene had requested. "Gilliam did a good job." Gene said as he inspected his new share quarters. "And this bed is really comfy." Melfina said as she laid down. "Hey Gene, can I ask you about something?" Gene went and stood next to her and asked, "Sure, what's up?" Melfina shifted a little and asked, "Don't people who are in love have sex?" Gene fell onto the bed like someone hit him in the head with a brick. He stuttered a little as he said, "Well… yes, why?" "I was just wondering about it." She said quietly. Gene chuckled and said, "Now that we're together I'm not really proud of this but I've had plenty of experience. What do you want to know?" She shifted a little more and nervously said, "I was just wondering what it was like and … well… wanted to try it." Gene was having a hard time breathing at this point. "It feels great." He said, almost choking on the words. "She wants to have sex with me." He thought to himself. Melfina started playing with the fringe on her night gown and asked, "Does it hurt at all? I've heard it can hurt sometime." Gene nodded and said, "For women it hurts a little at first, but then it feels good. Melfina looked down, blushing and said, "I know how it works but I've never done it before, so I don't really know what I'm supposed to do." Gene thought he was going to have a heart attack but then he just took a deep breath and sat up next to her. "It's one of those things that your body knows. Once those feelings start, your body will take over." Melfina looked up, not quite meeting Gene's eyes and said, "Gene, will you make love to me." Gene lifted her chin up so he could look her in the eye. He didn't say anything he just stared into her eyes. Then he began kissing her. The next morning, Gene woke up, wrapped in Melfina's arms then remembered what happen the night before. "Wow" he thought. Melfina stirred and looked up at him. "Thank you, Gene. That was…I don't know how to describe it." She said quietly. "I know what you mean" he said as he kissed her.

They got dressed and went to the galley to get something to eat. They found Aisha and Jim where already there, eating some scrambled eggs. "Good morning." Melfina said as she got a few more eggs from the fridge. "Morning." Jim and Aisha replied in unison. Melfina noticed that it looked like Aisha was trying not to laugh at something. "Hey Gene, can I talk to you for a second?" Jim asked as he put his dishes in the washer. Gene followed him to the cockpit to talk in private "What's up, Jim? Are the quarters Gilliam built not comfortable, he did a great job on our bedroom." Jim shook his head and took a deep breath, then said, "No, they're fine. I just wanted to talk to you. First I wanted to tell you that I am happy for you and Melfina. Second, I wanted to point out that even though this is a space ship, IT HAS THIN WALLS GENE!" It took Gene a moment to realize what Jim meant. Once it sank in, he almost fell down laughing. Jim leaned against the wall and said, "Look, it's not the first time I've… overheard you, it's just…" Gene nodded and said, "I know, it's different because I was with Melfina." Jim sighed and said, "I know the two of you are all but married but it still bugs me." Gene walked over to Jim and put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Next time we'll try to keep it down." Jim nodded and thanked him. Then Gene said, "I know how you feel about Melfina Jim, but you're gonna have to accept the fact that we're together. The longer you fight it, the more awkward things will be." Jim nodded and said, "You're right…for once. I'll work on it." Gene smiled and said, come on, I'm hungry.

The next four days went by quickly, and without further embarrassment for the crew of the Outlaw Star. Aisha was panting a little and said, "It's getting hot in here." Melfina nodded and said, "We're almost there; Gilliam how long until we reach Farfalas?" "We should arrive at the coordinates you input within the hour. Gene and Jim looked up and said in unison, "Farfalas?" Melfina laughed and nodded. "It's been three years since we met. I wanted to come and pay my respects to Hilda. Gene, what would you think about getting married at Blue Heaven, by the garden we visited?" Gene smiled and said, "Sounds good to me." With that the ship descended into orbit of the "Outlaw Star". Aisha blinked and wiped sweat out of her eyes and asked, "So what are we doing here?" Gene turned around to face her and asked, "Do you remember when Horus passed your ship on approach to Blue Heaven?" Aisha nodded and Gene said, "This is where we were going. Hilda had an asteroid bunker here in obit of this star. It's where she stashed the XGP, this ship, after she stole it from the pirates. While Jim, Mel and I were prepping the ship for launch, we were attacked by the Kei Pirates. Hilda fought them off long enough for us to get the ship out of the bunker, but Horus was knocked down too far and couldn't escape the gravity well. Hilda tried to cross over to the XGP but a pirate cut the anchor she was using to cross over. Hilda wasn't gonna go out that easy though, she latched on to the pirate's space suit and blew herself up taking that little witch with her. Then Horus and the asteroid fell into Farfalas. That's why I named the XGP the Outlaw Star. That was three years ago tomorrow. Melfina just wanted to pay respect to the one that was responsible for bringing the two of us together." Melfina nodded and shuddered a little, "If not for Hilda… it scares me to think about what would have happened to me. Gilliam launch the container please." "Certainly." said the ship's computer. And with that a large cargo container flew from the Outlaw Star. Then it opened up and what must have been hundreds of thousands of flowers began to float out in to space. No one spoke, only watched as the free floating wreath spread out around the grave of "Hot Ice" Hilda. Melfina whipped a tear from her eye and said, "Gilliam set a course for Blue Heaven."

The ship slowly began to turn around, back towards the station where their quest for the Galactic Leyline began. Jim looked up from his consol and asked, "Hey Gene, you think we'll run into Swanzo and Mickey?" It took Gene a moment to notice Jim was talking to him, "Huh, oh I haven't thought about those two in years. I dunno, I'm gonna be busy trying to remember where that garden was." Jim got out of his station in the cockpit and said, "Yea, I heard Mel mention a garden before we left Farfalas. What was she talking about?" Gene and Jim were both leaning against the control center when Gene said, "Not long after the three of us docked at Blue Heaven, while you were looking for shells, Melfina and I were out walking around. Just when I thought I had gotten used to space, I collapsed and Melfina helped me to a park bench. When I regained some of my senses, I saw Melfina staring at a flower bed. She said that they were fake. Artificial, like her, that was the first time we really talked about who and what she is. I already knew she was beautiful, but when she was standing in front of that flower bed… I don't know, she just looked right, when she smiled at me." Jim rolled his eyes and said with a chuckle, "I know love changes people, but you're starting to scare me Gene." Gene nodded and said, "You should feel it. I know I love her, the part that scares the hell out of me though, is that she loves me." They both laughed at the last part, but then Jim looked down and didn't say anything for a few moments. "You okay, bud?" Gene asked in a gentle tone. Jim chuckled a little then said, "It's just funny. All this time I've thought of you as my best friend, hell almost a brother, and now you're going to marry the woman who is the closest thing I've had to a mother since I was six. I just wonder what it will change." Gene sighed and said, "You do know she loves you like a son, don't you? She doesn't look at it that way because she really doesn't know what it is to have a family. But when I've talked to her about you, she talks about you the way my dad used to talk about me. Have you even told her you love her yet? She already knows, but trust me, you will feel so much better after you come out and say it." Jim looked up and asked, "You think?" Gene smiled and put a hand on Jim's shoulder and said, "I know. When I was "in" the Leyline, Melfina and I didn't have to speak; we could hear each other's thoughts. That's where I kissed her the first time. It felt so awkward afterwards, because she knew everything about me, including my feelings for her, and I knew hers. But once I finally said the words, it felt like someone had lifted this ship off of my chest. Just go tell her, she's in the kitchen working on supper." Jim just looked down and shuffled a little and then Gene sighed and said, "Okay, that's it." He then threw Jim down the hall into the galley. Melfina was surprised and just said an uneasy hello. Jim smiled and turned back to Gene who was standing in the doorway and mouthed "asshole" to him. Gene just smiled and walked away. "Mel, I just wanted to …" Melfina could see he was having a hard time and said, "Go on Jim, it's okay." Jim shuffled a little then walked over to Melfina and hugged her tightly. He whispered, "I love you…mom." Melfina's eyes went wide when she realized what Jim had said at the end and she smiled, hugged him back and said, "I love you too, Jim" They just stood that way for a moment, just holding each other. Jim looked up and said, "Gene was right for once, I do feel better now. Was it this hard for you to tell Gene the first time." The two of them went over and sat down at the table. Melfina smiled and said, "No Jim. For me, telling Gene I loved him was… the only word I can think of to describe it is natural." Jim wiped his eyes and said, "You may be the closest thing I have to a mother, but there is NO WAY I will ever think of Gene Starwind as a father figure. They were laughing at this when the oven timer went off. "And why would I ever think of you like a son?" Gene asked from out of nowhere. Jim laughed and then got a serious look on his face and asked, "How long have you been standing there?" Gene smiled and said, "Since somewhere between I and Mom." He began laughing again but Melfina stopped him saying, "Come on Gene, that was hard for him." Jim shrugged and said, "Don't worry about it Mel, I'm used to my annoying big brother." Gene got a beer from the fridge and said, "Well I'm glad we finally got that out of the way. By the way Jim, you do know Aisha heard every word you just said, right? DIDN'T YOU, YOU DAMN CAT?" Aisha came down the hall into the galley and said, "It's not my fault we Ctarl-Ctarl have the strongest ears in the galaxy." Jim laughed again and said, "It's okay, if anything she's like a big sister." Aisha smiled and hugged Jim. "And where do I fit into this strange, twisted family?" asked Suzuka. Jim went over to Gene who bent down to whisper with him, and then they stood and said in unison, "You're the strange Aunt everyone wonders about." Everyone but Suzuka found this very funny. "Well, let's eat." Melfina said after she whipped away a tear. The five of them had a nice supper full of "Aunt Suzu" comments.

The Outlaw Star arrived at Blue Heaven in three days. Gene and Jim introduced the rest of the crew to Swanzo and Mickey. Then Gene and Melfina told the group to find a hotel while they went and looked for the garden. Gene spotted it first. "Hey Mel, look." he said pointing toward an elevated viewing platform. Melfina smiled and said, "Yep, that's it." She laughed and said, "And that's the bench I had to put you on." They walked up the platform together and then Melfina said, "And there are the flowers." Melfina went down and looked at the flowers. Gene sat on the bench and watched her. For some reason she looked happier than he had seen her in a long time. Gene walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder, she wrapped an arm around his waist.

"These flowers are still like you, ya know" Gene said, looking down at Melfina. She got a curious look on her face and asked, "How? I'm human, not artificial." Gene smiled and said, "The flowers are beautiful, same as you." She smiled and hugged him tighter. Then they made their way to the hotel Jim had booked and began planning. They found someone to perform the ceremony but Jim ran into a snag. "Um Mel, you don't have a last name." She smiled and said, "I thought about that. I figure we can use Hawkins as my last name." Jim smiled, blushing a little and said, "Sounds good to me."

They scheduled the wedding three days away. Suzuka and Aisha took Melfina out to look for a dress, while Jim and Gene went out to get suits. Suzuka was planning to wear her traditional kimono, while Aisha was going to get a bridesmaid dress to match Melfina. "How about this one." Melfina said as she stepped out of the dressing room. She was wearing a strapless white gown with black lattice stitching on the front. Aisha gasped and said, "You look great." Suzuka nodded her approval. "Suzuka, would you wear a dress like Aisha's? I think it would be nice to have the three of us match. And you'd look beautiful." Melfina asked in a cheery mood. "Very well." she replied. The tailor came in and took the measurements of the three women, and had to make a special alteration for Aisha's tail. The three friends returned to the hotel to find Gene and Jim in white suits that went surprisingly well with the dresses Melfina had picked out. They put Aisha in charge of the wedding dinner as she was almost a better cook than Melfina.

Three day's passed by in a flash. They got their marriage license; using the fake ID Jim made for Melfina, and then met with the minister and planned things out. They met at the garden at noon. Gene was standing in front of the flower bed with Jim. "Geez, I think I'm gonna pass out." Gene said to Jim. Jim adjusted his tie and said, "Yea, it is kinda hot out here, especially for a space station." "I'm getting married." Gene mumbled to himself for the hundredth time. Jim gaped and tugged on Gene's jacket to get his attention and just said, "Look." Gene looked down the path to see Melfina in her dress and veil. After seeing her like that all of his nerves calmed down and he relaxed. He was shocked to see Suzuka wearing a matching bridesmaid dress, as he'd hardly ever seen her in anything but her kimono. The ceremony began with the minister giving a short speech about love. Gene didn't hear a word of it, he was too busy staring at Melfina, and then the time came. "Gene Starwind, do you take Melfina Hawkins to be your wife?" asked the minister. Gene said, "Yes." almost before the minister finished the question. "Melfina Hawkins, do you take Gene Starwind to be your husband?" She quietly answered, "Yes." The minister nodded and with a smile said, "I hereby pronounce you man and wife. Mr. Starwind, you may kiss your bride. Gene lifted the veil to find Melfina smiling with a small stream of tears rolling down one check. He wiped them away as he bent down and softly kissed her. Jim and Suzuka both clapped while Aisha burst in to tears. The minister cleared his throat to get Aisha's attention and said, "Ladies and gentlemen I give you Mr. and Mrs. Gene Starwind." After being pelted with rice, everyone thanked the minister then drove back to the hotel for the small reception.

Gene didn't bother trying to make a speech, and then they enjoyed a massive dinner. Gene didn't take into account how much a Ctarl-Ctarl eats when he asked Aisha to cook. When things were winding down Gene leaned over to Melfina and whispered, "What do you think Hilda would say if she were here right now?" Melfina blinked a few times, thinking and then they both began laughing. After the dinner had all but ended Gene stood and asked, "So, where do y'all want to go? Heifong or Sentinel III, Melfina and I are going to Planet Tenrei. I did some research and they actually let men in when it's a honeymoon." Aisha begged to go with them but Gene said, "Nope. We need some time to ourselves." They decided to go back to Sentinel III and do some remodeling on the shop. Suzuka was going to get a transport to a planet not far from the Heifong system. Gene and Melfina dropped Jim and Aisha off on Sentinel. Before they left Jim hugged Melfina and once again said, "I love you, mom." She smiled replied with "I love you too, son." Gene and Melfina said their good-byes, then got clearance and began the five day trip to Hot Springs Planet Tenrei.

Yet another adventure begins for the crew of the Outlaw Star.


	2. The Magic of Tenrei

The Magic of Tenrei

Jim and Aisha stood and watched the Outlaw Star fly out into space until it was only a spot of light. "Hey, when did Suzuka say she'd get here?" Jim asked Aisha as they started back towards the shop. "She should be back in two or three days." Aisha answered; Jim nodded as he added it up in his head then said "Okay, Gene and Mel are going to be gone for a little over a month so we should have plenty of time to combine the two bedrooms in to a master and you can put in the kitchen." The two friends returned to the Starwind & Hawking Enterprise shop and began looking at the blue prints. Jim smiled and said, "We got lucky. It's not a load bearing wall and there's only one electrical line. The bathroom will be easy too, seeing as it's going to be right above the one downstairs." Aisha smiled and said, "If you'll mark the wall where the power line is I'll start breaking it out. Hey, what are those prints for?" Jim quickly rolled up the pages he'd been looking over and said it was a secret. "We need to cover Gene's stuff and move Melfina's things downstairs before we start. You work on bringing Mel's stuff down and I'll tarp off Gene's stuff." Aisha tried to get him to tell her what was on the other set of blueprints but Jim wouldn't budge, "You have the kitchen as your project, this one's mine. Let's get to work." Aisha shrugged and started up the stairs.

While the two friends worked on the shop together, Gene and Melfina were having adventures of their own on the way to Tenrei. Gene sat, panting on the edge of the bed where Melfina was lying stretched out. Gene laughed and said, "I think you're turning into a nymphomaniac Mel." She sat up and got a couple drinks from the small fridge they had in their room and asked, "What's a "nypomaniac"?" Gene took his and said, "It's Nymphomaniac. It means someone who's obsessed with sex." Melfina blinked a few times as she thought about it and Gene was chuckling a little when she finally said, "It does seem that way." They were both laughing when Gilliam came over the com system requesting they return to the cockpit for another sub-ether burn. Once Melfina had the navigation systems fully online the ship made the jump to sub-ether. "Another three days til we reach Tenrei, right?" Gene asked after they exited the ether. "Yes. The remainder of the trip should take about 72 hours." Gilliam replied as Melfina came out of her capsule. "I'm gonna go fix something to eat. All this hard work has given me quite an appetite." Melfina said with a wink as she headed toward the galley. While eating, Melfina noticed that Gene seemed to be thinking about something. When he started to giggle a little she asked what was funny and he said, "I was just thinking it's true, it really is the quiet ones you have to watch. I never would have guessed you'd be a screamer." Melfina blushed a little then said, "I can't help it. It's like you said before we made love the first time, once those feelings start, my body takes over." Gene nodded then asked, "Why do you always say 'make love' or 'made love' why don't you just say sex?" Melfina shrugged and said, "Sex seems like to general a term. What we do feels… more important than just sex. We're loving one another completely, that's why I think 'make love' and 'made love' fit better." Gene nodded as he thought about it and then agreed with her. Gene went to stand up but was interrupted by a massive yawn. He then laughed and asked, "Have slept at all in the two days since we left Sentinel?" Melfina laughed and said, "Not much, we have been pretty busy." "Hey Gilliam, how long til we can make another jump?" Gene asked. The pink bot came into the kitchen and said, "Approximately two hours Gene." Gene put a hand on Melfina's waist and said, "Just keep cruising on course for Tenrei, wake us in six hours." Gilliam agreed as the two went down the hall to their room. "Let's get some sleep." Gene said as he leaned over to kiss Melfina as she lay down next to him. "Goodnight." She said as she laid her head back on the pillow.

"Hey Aisha, when did the carpet guy say he'd get here?" Jim called to Aisha, who was busy downstairs working on the new kitchen she was installing for Melfina. "About two hours or so, how's the tile coming?" Jim had knocked out a section of the wall in to what used to be his room and made it into a master bathroom for Gene and Melfina. "Good, I'm almost done." He called down. "I can't believe how fast we got this done. We tore down two walls, rerouted three electrical lines and installed a full bathroom and closet in less than two weeks. Having a Ctarl-Ctarl around really speeds this kinda thing up." Jim thought to himself as he spread the grout over the tiles he'd just laid. "Once this dries and I get the new furniture in here I can get started on the other rooms." He thought with a smile. "Hey Jim, let's go get something to eat before the carpet guy gets here." Aisha called up to him. "Okay, let me wash off the rest of this grout and I'll be right down." He yelled back. Jim cleaned himself up a little and went down to see how Aisha was doing with the new kitchen. "Wow. It looks great Aisha. I bet Melfina will love those countertops." Jim said as he looked around. "I hope so, they weren't cheap." Aisha replied as she walked towards the door. The two friends walked down the street to a local dinner they both liked and enjoyed a large lunch when from behind them someone said, "Have you finished the kitchen yet Aisha, because I have the new dishes and cookware with me." The two spun around to find Suzuka standing right behind them. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that. You come in so quietly that you even catch Aisha off guard." Jim said with a sigh. Suzuka just shrugged and said, "Silence is easy to achieve." Aisha smiled and said, "I'm glad your back. With your help, we should get finished with the kitchen today." Suzuka sat next to Jim and ordered a cup of tea, then asked, "Are the cabinets up yet? I've got a full set of pots and pans as well as new dishes and silverware." Aisha nodded and said, "Yep, they were the first thing I put in. All that really needs to be done is to put up the backsplash and we need to hook up the gas line to the stove and we'll be done." "Once the grout dries in the bathroom I put in upstairs the new master will be finished too. That reminds me, we need to get back to the shop the carpet guy will be there soon." The three of them started back to the shop together. When they turned the corner, Aisha and Suzuka were both surprised to see a man caught in a net hanging above the front door. Jim just laughed, "This guy called a few days ago asking about a safe house, while I was stalling on the phone I was running his name and found he had a 20k bounty on his head so I rigged this trap."

Once they dropped "Mr. Ryuu" off at the police station they went back to the shop and got back to work. Once the carpet was installed they moved the new furniture into the master bedroom and Aisha and Suzuka put a variety of make up in one of the two vanities in the bathroom. "You couldn't pay me enough to go through Gene's nightstand drawer, so I'll just put his old one next to the new one and let him sort through it." Jim said with a quiver. Aisha laughed and agreed with him, "It looks like we're done. I think they'll love the new bedroom." Jim nodded and said, "I know Melfina will at least, you never know with Gene. Now, if you two ladies will excuse me, I've got a couple of projects of my own to attend to." With that, Jim walked out through the garage without another word. Once outside he got his phone out and made a call. Fred Lo's assistant put him through and Fred started in hitting on him as soon as he picked up the phone, Jim just sighed and waited for a break in Fred's rambling "Yea, okay Fred, you can tell the crew I'm ready for them to deliver the containers now." Jim said before hanging up his phone. About a half hour later, a crew arrived with four large cargo containers. Jim immediately took charge, "Okay, line the long one up with that back door centered in the opening. Put the short narrow one up against the long one about 10 feet from the opening on the right hand side, the orange marks on the ground should frame the corners when it's in place. The two wide ones go on either side of the long one at the far end." Once the foreman had arranged the containers the way Jim had told him he stopped and asked what he was gonna use them for. "Just expanding the shop a little." Jim said as he walked back to the shop. "I'm going into town for an hour or two." He said as he picked up the key to Efrau and walked to the garage without stopping. He drove to the local hardware yard and gave the foreman his ticket with a list of the supplies he needed. The foreman laughed and said, "It looks like you're building a small house." Jim smiled and said, "I am. How long will it take you to deliver these to my building?" The foreman scratched his head a few times and said it would take about an hour or so. Jim thanked him and started back towards the shop.

Once Jim arrived at the shop he began tracing outlines onto the containers, on the floors, walls and ceilings. He cut through the walls of the center container and the narrow one that was beside it and then he welded the outer door of the smaller container shut making it a small room. He then cut two holes in the floor, one in each corner of the room. He took a small sledge hammer and broke the concrete below the container to reveal a long iron pipe underneath. Next he cut an opening in the wall that was once the door of the structure and he put a small hole in the roof. "This'll be a nice bathroom once I'm done with it." He thought to himself. He went on like this in the other three containers, cutting out places for doors and windows and holes to route in the electrical lines he would need. The insulation, drywall, doors and other materials arrived not long after he finished the last weld that made the three containers one building. Once finished unloading the delivery man yelled, "Hey kid where do you want this 'special' stuff?" Jim had to think for a minute, then he remembered telling the yard foreman to call it special stuff so Aisha wouldn't overhear what he was doing. "Next to the container on your right." Jim called down to him. Jim then began the task of insulating, and wiring the new building. He worked through the night. When the sun came up he had almost all of the drywall hung. He'd put down hardwood floors on top of the layers of insulation. Once the last piece of drywall was up, he started on the bathroom. With it being a small bathroom it didn't take him long. The hardest part was tapping into the water and sewage lines. In five hours time he had made a fully functioning bathroom. He began painting the main corridor then went on to the two bedrooms. In Aisha's he put up a variety of greens and other vibrant, tropical colors. In Suzuka's he painted the walls to resemble a traditional Japanese home, mimicking the paper panels. After working for 72 hours straight, he took a quick nap, then drank almost a gallon of coffee and went to a furniture store in town. He used the bounty from Ryuu to pay for the furniture. For Aisha he picked out nice contemporary dressers and a small night stand. For Suzuka he picked out traditional Japanese furniture, including a traditional bed. Aisha's bed was a huge circular mattress set, as she sprawled out when she slept. He got lamps and other accessories and had them delivered. He set up the bedrooms as best he could then went to the front of the hall where he would have to link the new structure with the shop, which was becoming more and more of a home, and locked the container doors. He dragged himself inside and passed out on the couch. When he woke up Aisha was sitting next to him on the couch. He was amazed to find he'd been asleep for two days. "What have you been working on out there Jim? We didn't see you for three days." Jim smiled and said, "Nope. You and Suzuka will have to wait for Gene and Melfina to get back. We're doing one big reveal."

Gene and Melfina were sitting in a nice hot spring on Mount Niotai. Men usually weren't allowed on Niotai but Urt let him in for his honeymoon. When she saw it was him she laughed and said, "So Gene, are we back for more pictures?" Gene laughed nervously and introduced Urt and Melfina. She welcomed the two and gave them access to her private spring, which was one of the largest on the mountain. "Well, I'm going to bed, goodnight." Melfina said as she stood up. Gene smiled and said he wouldn't be much longer. As she walked away Gene was still taken by the way she looked. He'd seen her naked so many times over the last four weeks it should've seemed normal by then but he still couldn't help but be amazed by her body. Gene laughed and thought, "I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be married, let alone on a honeymoon." He then got up and dried himself and went to be with Melfina. They laid down together and settled into a peaceful sleep. The next day they went on a tour of the new temple on mount Nontai. When Gene walked in Ark was surprised to see him. "So Gene, I guess you didn't use all three shells after all. How have you been?" Gene laughed and said, "I used all four shells. Urt gave me two. I've been good, this is my wife, Melfina." Ark just stood there looking at Gene and finally said, "If you used those three shells you'd have died." Gene and Melfina both laughed, "I did." Gene said with a laugh. Gene explained about their adventures at the Leyline and how Melfina had brought him back to life. "Well, you certainly are an odd one. I take it you're here for your honeymoon, how do you like Mt. Nontai?" Gene and Melfina laughed again and explained how Urt was letting them stay on Niotai. They stayed for tea then left. As they were walking down the mountain path Melfina asked, "Gene, weren't you going to ask him if you could learn how to make caster shells?" Gene shook his head, "Those fools won't do anything unless I get dirty pics of Urt for them. To get the shells last time I had to get footage of her. She took the camera after I won her shells in a ping pong game and shot some stuff. She put a bomb in it though, I was walking away and then BOOM the whole temple blew up. I'm gonna talk to Urt about making shells." Melfina laughed and said, "Of course you wouldn't stay to see footage of a naked beautiful woman." Gene just blushed and said it was getting late and they should get back to . Once back to their room Gene hugged Melfina from behind and said, "Guess what." Melfina looked at him and said, "What?" Gene got a big smile on his face and said, "I'm not feeling saddle sore anymore." Melfina laughed and turned into his hug and began kissing him as they made their way to the bed. The made love, again and again, for what seemed like hours, until neither one of them could barely move. They slept naked and entwined, just like the first time they made love.

Gene woke up first and brushed some hair out of Melfina's face, who drowsily said, "Good morning." Gene kissed her and replied in turn. "If it's okay with you I'm gonna go talk to Urt about caster shells, do you want me to bring you something to eat?" Melfina sat up and shook her head, "I think I'll just go soak for a while." Gene kissed her again and told her he would be back later that afternoon. Gene made his way to Urt's rec room where he found her reading on the couch. "Hello Gene. I must say, that wife of yours in a noisy one." Gene blushed, then said, "I wouldn't have her any other way. Urt I need to talk to you about something serious." Urt put her put her book down and said, "Go on." Gene sat down next to her and pulled his caster. "Urt, this is my weapon of choice. It's effective and reliable, but the shells are getting harder and harder to find. Is there a way for a normal person like me to make the shells, or do I have to have powers like you, Ark and Hadul?" Urt thought for a moment then said, "I'll tell you… if you beat me in a ping pong match." Gene laughed and went over to the table. The match was first to ten points. Gene won so easily he felt like Urt let him win, but he wasn't about to bring it up. "Gene, you don't need any powers to create the shells. None of the seventeen you can learn to make will take energy from you like the three you got from us, which I will not teach you. The process of making the shells is actually quite simple. People say that the technology is lost but it's only forgotten. All you will need is a mold for the shells and their caps, one of seventeen different common chemicals, depending on which shell you want to make. The last ingredient is energy. When you speak the incantation energy will be taken from your surroundings and stored in the chemical in the shell, you then seal the shell with the cap and you have a caster shell. Now, if you make them in a place with no life in it, like a basement, the energy will come from you, so I suggest you do it outside. A garden would be a perfect place to make them. I will give u molds and the list of incantations and chemicals. But Gene, when you speak the incantations, you must speak very clearly or it could go wrong. Now for anything dangerous to happen while making them is unlikely but when you go to fire the shell, something could go wrong." Gene nodded as he took in the information and then asked, "Can I record you speaking the incantations so I have something more to reference?" Urt nodded that that would be fine. Urt then added, "Not just any metal will do for the shells, it needs to be a very strong metal, like the type of steel used on ship hulls. Just go to a junk yard and salvage some." They spent the rest of the afternoon going over the various chemicals and incantations needed. Gene was surprised to find that most of the chemicals could be found in any normal kitchen or broom closet. Then the time came for Gene to try making one. Urt handed him an empty shell and the cap. Gene added the salts needed for this shell and spoke the incantation. At first nothing happened but then the salts began to glow. "Well done, Gene. Now put the shell into the press and affix the cap. Then we'll go fire it and see how well you really did." Gene did as she said and then they stepped outside and Gene loaded the shell into his caster. He hesitated at first but then he steeled himself and pulled the trigger. The caster fired out a beam of energy similar to a bolt of lightning. "Very well done indeed, Gene." Urt said with a short clap. Gene just stood there having a hard time believing that he had just fired a caster shell that he himself had made. Once he 'woke up' Urt invited him and Melfina to dine with her later. "I'll have the press and molds in a container waiting for you tomorrow." Urt said as Gene was leaving. The three of them enjoyed a nice dinner together. Gene and Urt spoke to Melfina at length about how easy it was to make the shells. As dinner was winding down Urt asked, "So are you two planning on staying much longer?" Gene shook his head, "We're planning on leaving tomorrow evening. We've had a good time here but we need to get back to Sentinel III." Urt smiled and said, "From what I've been hearing I'd say that Melfina has had a great time." Gene and Melfina both turned bright red as Urt began to laugh, then they joined in. They thanked Urt for dinner and said their goodbyes. As they were starting back to their room, Urt handed Gene a strange token. "This is to show that you, Melfina and any of your friends are welcome on this mountain." Urt explained. Gene looked at the token in his hand and thanked her again. Gene and Melfina woke early the next morning and began packing. When Gene opened the door to their room he found a large box with his name on it. He opened it to find the shell molds, the press, the "recipe" book and several hundred empty shells and caps. They had the porter take their things down the mountain and deliver them to the space docks. Melfina and Gene both wanted to go and thank Urt but she was in the temple and did not want to be disturbed. They set out for the space port and began preparations for launch.

The five day trip back to Sentinel III went by with a flash of passion. "Do you think we should call the others now, or wait until we've landed?" Melfina asked before taking her position in her pod. "Gilliam put in a call to the shop for me." Gene said. A few seconds later Jim and Aisha both appeared on the display. After a couple hundred questions Gene finally had a chance to tell them that they were going to be landing in a couple of hours. "Hey Aisha, Suzuka, you two go to the space port without me. I have to finish a couple little details before they get here." Aisha was against it but Jim wouldn't budge. "Good, they're gone." Jim immediately started work on the backdoor. He pulled out the frame and connected the shop to the addition and made it one building. He then went into the garage to finish working on something for he was making for Suzuka. Just as he wiped off the last bits of sawdust, they walked through the front door. He hurried over to give Melfina a hug. "Why didn't you come meet us at the ship Jim?" she asked as they separated. "I had to put the finishing touches on some things. Now put your bags down and let's take a tour of your new home." Jim said with a smile. Aisha led Melfina to her new kitchen. After showing all of the new the new toys in the kitchen, Jim led them upstairs to show them their new master suite. "Um Jim, where's my door?" Melfina asked as they walked down the hall. Jim and Aisha just smiled as they reached the door at the end of the hall. "Welcome to your new home." Jim said as he opened the door. Gene and Melfina just stood there looking at the big bed, the dressers and the vanity for Melfina. "Take a look at your bathroom." Jim said as he opened the door. "Two sinks, massage tub and a shower. Aisha and Suzuka threw in something for you Mel, if you'll open the cabinet behind your mirror." Jim said as Melfina and Gene entered the spacious room. Melfina couldn't believe the amount and variety of the make-up. "Well what do y'all think?" Aisha asked. Melfina's eyes were tearing when she said it was great. Gene just looked around. Jim cleared his throat and said, "Now if you will all follow me, I'll show you what I've been working on." He led them downstairs to where the back door used to be but now there was only a sheet. Jim pulled on the sheet revealing the hallway. "Down here on the right, you two ladies have your bathroom. Then down here at the end, we have your bedrooms. Suzuka, yours is on the left." He opened the door and showed them the room. "I did my best to find traditional Japanese furniture for you." Suzuka paused on the fountain by her dresser and said, "You've done very well Jim, thank you." Jim smiled and told her she was welcome. "Now, let's go see Aisha's room." They went across the hall and Jim again led the way into the room. "I figured since you're from a tropical planet you'd like these colors, and I've seen the way you sprawl out when you sleep so I got you that big bed and some special sheets for it." Aisha hugged him with tears in her eyes. "And this room is also a gift to the rest of us. Suzuka, come in and close the door behind you please." Suzuka did as Jim asked and then they all waited. Jim just smiled as Aisha started turning her head from side to side. "This room is almost completely sound proof. That should prevent any surprises like when Gene proposed." Aisha giggled a little then said, "And it will help me sleep. Thanks Jim." Jim nodded, and then said, "You're welcome; now both of you have a home here with us, whether or not you're staying permanently. Hey Suzuka, when you two left for the port I put the finishing touches on something for you, I'll be right back." He ran out to the garage and got the piece he had hidden under a sheet and brought it to Suzuka's room. He set it next to her bed. Then he pulled off the sheet revealing a beautiful wooden stand. "It's a display for your Vokudo. I know you usually sleep with it next to you, but if you want to you can keep it on this and it would still be easily accessible." She ran her hands over it and placed her Vokudo on the stand. It was a perfect fit. She quietly said, "Thank you Jim."

They all returned to the main room and began talking. Gene was a little nervous but asked, "Jim, Aisha, Suzuka this is all amazing, but how much is this going to increase the rent?" Jim smiled at Suzuka who said, "Nothing. I bought the lot from your previous landlord and am giving the deed to the two of you as a wedding gift." Melfina began to cry as she thanked Suzuka. Gene just stared for a few moments then stuttered a little when he said, "Suzu…ka why… why would you do that for us? Don't think I'm not grateful, I just… I guess I just can't believe it." Suzuka smiled a little then said, "I've never had many friends, I've never really let myself have friends, everything was about getting a second shot at Hitoriga but you are all my friends." She then just sat sipping her tea while the others thought about her. After things sank in a little Aisha realized something, "JIM YOU BUILT US A HOUSE IN THREE DAYS?" Jim nodded saying, "It was really pretty easy I just insulated shipping containers then finished them on the inside like you would a house." Melfina blinked, then asked, "Jim you built all of that by yourself?" He nodded again and said, "I was having so much fun working on it that I worked for 72 hours straight before I passed out on the couch. I slept for two days." He laughed at the last part. "So did you two have fun on Tenrei?" Jim asked as he stopped laughing. Melfina said that it was great and started talking about all the different springs and things they saw on the mountain then trailed off with, "And… Gene has learned something." Everyone turned to Gene and waited. He just smiled and said, "I can make caster shells." Jim almost fell out of his chair, "You mean I don't have to dig through all those junk heaps anymore? Wait, don't you have to have some special powers for to do that?" Gene smiled and said, "Yes to your first question and no, you don't need any powers, the power comes from your surroundings. Aisha, go get that potted plant from your room please." Aisha got up and went to get the plant as Gene went and did some digging in the large container he'd left by the door. He sat down at the table with an empty caster shell, a cap of some sort and something that looked like a juice press. He went to one of the cabinets and got out the salt. "Here's the plant." Aisha said as she set it on the table. Gene measured out an amount of salt then poured it into the shell then spoke a strange incantation that the others didn't understand. Nothing happened at first but then the salt began to glow and the plant wilted a little. Gene put the cap on the shell then pressed it into place. He pulled out the finished shell and threw it to Jim. "Wanna go up to the roof?" He asked as he pulled his caster. The five friends went up to the roof and Gene fired the shell, producing what looked like a bolt of lightning. Suzuka was the first to speak, "Amazing, I thought the technology required to make these shells was lost." Gene nodded as he said, "Urt explained to me that the technology wasn't lost, just forgotten. She then taught me the 17 different components I'd need and the incantations. As long as I speak the incantation very clearly and do it somewhere where there is life, like plants, they will work like a charm." Aisha looked a little displeased then said, "That's all well and good, but look at my plant! You half killed it!" They all laughed and Jim told her to put some sugar in the water the next time she watered it and it would be fine. The five friends went back downstairs and Gene and Melfina shared more about their adventures on Tenrei.

Over the next month there were several jobs that brought in quite a bit of cash and Gene began building a greenhouse on the roof, in the middle of which was his loading station. He had Jim build a furnace so they could melt down salvaged metal and old shells to make new shells and caps. He soon had a good surplus of all 17 types of shells. Melfina enjoyed taking care of the garden and Gene was surprised to find that he too enjoyed it. "Hey Gene, would you go refill the water can for me?" Melfina asked as she held it out to him. "Sure. I don't understand how these weeds are getting in here; it's a closed building for crying out loud." Gene said as he walked out the door to the spigot. He handed the can back to Melfina and she resumed watering the plants, humming a tune to herself. She saw Jim over on the other side of the roof tinkering. "Hey Gene, have you noticed how much Jim has grown since the wedding? He'll be as tall as you if he keeps this up." Gene laughed and said, "Yea I know, he's been through a pretty good spurt." Melfina put the watering can down and said she was going to get dinner started.

The crew/family of the Outlaw Star sat at the new dining room table and enjoyed a delicious dinner Melfina had prepared when Jim announced he would need to be left alone tomorrow. "Why" asked Gene, Mel and Aisha at the same time, Suzuka just sipped her tea. Jim smiled and said, "There's a hacking tournament tomorrow. The fasted one to break the system wins 50,000 wong. I've already done research on it and it's legit. My dad won a similar contest when I was little." Gene smiled and said, "I could use a little extra money." Jim laughed as he said, "Who says you're gonna get any. That money is going to another project of mine; anything left over will go into the group pot." Gene griped while Melfina Aisha and even Suzuka wished him luck. "Hey Gene, will you come out to the garage? Need to talk to you about something. Aisha, mind your own business." Jim said with a slight tone.

Gene got up and walked out to the garage with Jim and said, "What's up?" Jim sat Efrau's fender and asked, "Have you noticed how Suzuka has been changing? Ever since you and Mel got married she's seemed different. She's joining in with things and the scary part is she's starting to let her emotions show." Gene nodded along with Jim as he was talking and then said, "Basically she's fulfilled her only real goal. Ever since Hitoriga killed her family, all she's trained for was to beat him. And now that that is over, now she can let herself live." Jim said, "It must have been hard to live with killing being your only goal." Gene nodded "Living to kill, and living for revenge are two different things. Come on, let's go get some dessert." Gene said as he walked towards the door back inside.

With dinner over, everyone was winding down and Aisha had already gone to bed. "Well, I'm gonna hit the sack, I've got some real hacking to do tomorrow." Jim said as he got up. Gene and Melfina told him good night but as Jim reached the stairs he stopped. He then turned around and went over to Melfina and gave her a hug and then went up to bed. "He is turning into such a mama's boy." Gene sneered. Melfina gave him a funny look and asked, "And what's wrong with that?" Gene just shook his head as he realized he was treading on thin ice. "Never mind, well I'm ready for bed too, you coming?" Melfina shook her head and said she would be up later. Once Gene was upstairs Melfina looked at Suzuka who appeared to be asleep and said, "Suzuka, are you feeling alright? You've been acting a little different lately and I was just wondering if everything was okay." Suzuka opened her eyes and thought for a moment, then said, "The way you, Gene and Jim have changed, the type of family you have become… its bringing back memories is all. Memories I thought were gone, buried under years of hate. I'm just trying to get used to them." Melfina smiled and said, "You know, you and Aisha are just as much a part of this family. You two are like sisters to me. I'm just gonna guess that it's not the memories of your family that are bothering you, it's the fact that you feel like you belong to a family again, isn't it?" Suzuka looked at Melfina a little shocked, then chuckled and said, "You read people very well Melfina." Melfina nodded and said, "I know. Let me give you some advice; don't fight the feelings, let them out. You'll feel much better. Goodnight Suzuka." Suzuka thanked her for the advice and wished her a goodnight.

Melfina went upstairs to her bedroom and found Gene reading a magazine. She went over to her dresser and began to undress to put her night gown on. As soon as she had her pants off, she felt a hand on her waist. "Well your son gave you love tonight, how about some from your husband?" Gene whispered in her ear. "Sounds good." Melfina said quietly as she turned in Gene's arms. The next couple hours seemed to only last seconds. As he felt Melfina tensing as she climaxed, he quickly pulled her down to kiss her, to keep her from screaming like she usually did. After she got her breath back she said, "I'm glad you did that, I think I would have broken that nice mirror Jim bought me if I'd let that out." Gene just laughed and laid down next to her. "I love you, Mel." He said as she slipped her night gown on. "I love you too." She said as she laid her head on Gene's chest.

The next day was pretty uneventful until right as Melfina was preparing dinner. Everyone was startled when they heard Jim yelling and carrying on. He burst out of his room yelling, "I WON I WON I WON!" Gene went over to him and noticed his eyes were bloodshot and he looked pale. "You feel okay bud? You don't look so good." Jim shrugged, "I'll be fine; I've just been cracking code for the last 7 hours. The guy that came in second took ten hours to hack the site. Turns out the site we had to hack was the guy's bank account." Aisha smiled and rubbed her hands together and then ask, "So Jim, what are you gonna do with all that money?" Jim smiled as he said, "I've already spent 15 grand." "ON WHAT?!" Everyone exclaimed at once. Jim leaned back and said, "I hired a contractor, He's gonna build a deck on top of the addition, with a pool and everything."

The contractor arrived the next day and began assessing the layout and told Jim he'd have it done in two months. Jim nodded and said, "Okay, but I'll hold you to that. After 60 days, your pay is gonna drop by 250 wong a day." The contractor did some griping but eventually agreed. The two months passed in a flash and ended with a splash. Jim and Aisha were swimming around, Melfina was just relaxing in the shallow end while Suzuka was sunbathing on the deck. Gene yelled over his shoulder that the burgers were ready and every one came to eat lunch.

What next for the family of the Outlaw Star?


	3. Unexpected Love

Unexpected Love

Since the wedding, the crew of the Outlaw Star had been becoming more and more of a family; with Gene and Melfina as husband and wife, Jim seeing Melfina as a foster mother and Melfina seeing him as her foster son and Melfina considered Aisha and Suzuka sisters in all but blood.

Six months after the wedding, Gene and Melfina were out on the deck while Jim was doing laps in the pool. Ever since he had the pool built he'd been using it for exercise more than anything else. Gene laughed and told him that if he spent anymore time in the water he was going to grow gills. "Gene, in the months since this thing was built, how many times have you cracked that joke? Because it wasn't funny the first time and guess what, it still isn't funny." Gene shrugged and said, "I just never knew you like the water so much." Melfina closed her book and got up saying, "I'm gonna go to the store, I need a few things for dinner tonight. I won't be gone long." Gene and Jim both said bye and Gene went upstairs to the roof to work on some caster shells.

When Melfina got back, dinner was ready in a flash. She made a soup she'd found the recipe for in a magazine. Jim gulped down the last of his and said, "Mel you definitely have to add this one to your recipe box, it's great." Aisha didn't have to say she liked it; she was on her fourth bowl. Once everyone had eaten their fill, Aisha made an announcement. "I have to go back to Ctarl for a while. I need to clear some things up with the empire, I can't really say more than that. I'm probably gonna be gone for about six months." The others questioned her but couldn't get anything else from her. After finally giving up, everyone started making their ways to bed.

The next day, Melfina cooked a huge breakfast for Aisha, and to her amazement, actually cooked more than she could eat. Suzuka as always was a little distant but the others were spending every moment they could with Aisha before she had to leave later that day. Eventually, the time came and Aisha had to go. After agreeing to water her plants for her, Jim drove Aisha to the space port where there was a Ctarl cruiser waiting. "Bye, Aisha" Jim called as she went up to the ship. She waved then boarded the ship.

The next month went by fairly fast, but Gene and Melfina both noticed a change in Jim. He began to keep to himself more. One night, Gene and Melfina heard him crying. Gene went to check it out but stopped in the hall when he heard Jim say, "I killed her." Gene looked into the room to see Jim rocking back and forth sobbing, repeating "I killed her." over and over. Jim didn't even notice that Gene was standing right in front of him. "Jim, Jim snap out of it." Gene said hastily. Jim looked up with tears in his eyes. Gene sat down and said, "Okay Jim, it's time for you to talk. Mel and I both have noticed your moods changing, and now I come in here to find to balling saying "I killed her" what's going on Jim?" "I don't want to talk about it" Jim replied as he whipped his eyes. Gene got firm now. "I didn't ask you if you wanted to talk about it. Damn it Jim, you're scaring me." Jim looked up at Gene with an anger in his eyes Gene had never seen before. "Alright then, look." Jim said as he shoved a picture of a young girl in a kimono in Gene's face." Gene took the picture and looked it over. "Cute, now who is she?" Jim sobbed a little when he said, "Her name was Hanmyo. I met her on Symka 5. She was the closest thing I've ever had to a girlfriend and I killed her." With that Jim began crying again. Gene put his hands on Jim's shoulders and said, "Keep it together bud, I need to understand this. What do you mean you killed her?" Jim gathered himself up and began the story. "While we were on Symka 5, I was walking by the park outside of town and I saw her. She was doing a Feng Shui dance. She looked so beautiful. We hung out for a few hours, and then made a date for the next day. This went on for about a couple of days, and then she didn't show up. That was the day we left the station. After Aisha left I began doing research, trying to find her, and I did. She was one of the Anten Seven Gene. She was the pilot of that grappler ship that attacked us. Remember, the ship that had detachable grappler arms. Suzuka and Aisha fought the arms, and I launched the missile that destroyed her ship." Gene took a few minutes to think about what Jim had just said. He gave Jim some generic advices on how to let things go, but didn't really know what to say. Then they both heard a sob from outside the room. Melfina came in, and without saying anything wrapped her arms around Jim.

After having let it out Jim seemed to get better. In the five months that Aisha had been gone Jim underwent a massive growth spurt. He was almost as tall as Gene when the week of his fifteenth birthday rolled around. "Hey Jim, I just got a message from Aisha, she says she'll make it back in time for your birthday." Gene yelled from downstairs. "That should cheer him up." Gene thought to himself.

Aisha arrived the day of the party. Aisha couldn't believe how tall Jim had gotten. "Is that you, Jim?" Jim laughed "Yea, just a newer model." Everyone was together again and Jim had a life in his eyes that had been missing ever since he found out about Hanmyo. After a dinner big enough for a whole family of Ctarl-Ctarl, everyone just relaxed and began talking. "So Aisha, what's the deal? What were you doing on Ctarl?" Aisha smiled and said, "I resigned from the empire. I'm no longer an officer in the Ctarl-Ctarl Imperial Force." All of them stared at Aisha with disbelief. Aisha laughed and said, "I guess you can consider me an outlaw now." They all took turns interrogating her, question after question except for Suzuka who just sat quietly, sipping her tea. As the evening wore on things settled down and Suzuka went back to her room. Melfina was nodding on Gene's shoulder when Gene said, "Well, looks like its bedtime happy birthday Jim." Jim thanked him as he took Melfina up to their room. "I can't believe I never noticed how pretty Aisha is." Jim thought to himself as he went up the stairs to his own room.

Jim got up early and went for a swim. All of the exercise he'd been getting from the swimming had changed his physique a lot. He was leaner and much stronger. When he'd just finished his 50th lap Aisha came up to the deck in her bikini and joined him for a while. "You wouldn't believe how much I've missed this pool." She said as she floated around a little. "I guess with all the paperwork and stuff you didn't have much time to relax, huh?" She just nodded as she climbed out of the pool and went off the diving board. "Wow." Jim thought as he saw her in the air. They swam together for a while, Jim did 20 more laps and Aisha continued diving, saying she found it relaxing. This became a routine; Jim and Aisha swimming together in the mornings. It only lasted about two weeks before Jim stopped, and he began to grow distant again.

One night Aisha went for a swim before bed and Jim was watching her from the roof. She was just swimming end to end. He felt like he could watch her do that forever. At the end of one lap, she stopped by the diving board and said, "Ya know, it's not polite to stare Jim." Jim suddenly felt very nervous. She then added, "Come down from there and meet me in my room when I'm done drying off."

Jim was sitting on Aisha's bed, and he couldn't stop twitching. "Jeez she's gonna tear me apart." He kept thinking to himself. Then she walked in wearing a night gown of sorts. She sat down and started to brush out her three miles worth of hair. A few tense moments passed before she said, "Jim, are you okay? You've been acting different lately." Jim took a few seconds and said, "Yea, I'm fine, I'm just trying to figure some things out." Aisha turned to look at him and asked, "Is that why you don't swim with me anymore?" Jim shifted nervously and said, "Yes." Aisha put her brush down and began braiding her hair. Once she was done she went over and sat next to Jim on her bed and asked, "Is it because of that girl, Hanmyo?" Jim's eyes went wide when Aisha mentioned Hanmyo. Then he shook his head saying, "I've put that behind me Aisha." Aisha's expression changed as she said, "Jim, Melfina told me the whole story, about how they found you in your room. That type of hurt doesn't go away easy. You can talk to me ya know." Jim started to laugh a little and Aisha said, "Come on Jim, I'm serious. I'm kinda worried about you." He began to laugh harder now then said, "Don't worry about me Aisha; YOU'RE what I've been thinking about." Once he had said this Aisha just blinked a few times and then joined him laughing. After Jim recovered he told her, "Aisha when you left, I got lonely, so I started looking for Hanmyo. When I found out that I killed her it hurt like hell. But then I realized if she had had her way, we'd all be dead and the pirates would have Mel, so I moved on. Then you came back…" Aisha noticed he was holding back and encouraged him to continue. "You came back and it was like old times, but something has changed in me. When we swam together that first time, I didn't just see my best friend. I saw a very beautiful woman." Aisha stopped him there and said, "Thanks for the compliment but come on, I've looked the same since we almost crashed into each other at Blue Heaven." He nodded and said, "I know. That's one of the things that have been bothering me. One, I never notice how beautiful you are; two the way my thoughts and… my feelings for you have changed." Aisha blushed a little and said, "Basically Jim, you've grown up. When I came back I couldn't believe that you were… well, you. You've become a tall and handsome young man." Jim smiled and asked so quietly that the Ctarl-Ctarl had a hard time hearing him, "But does that mean I'm in love with my best friend?" Aisha was taken back for a moment then she told him, "It just means we care for each other Jim, that's all." Aisha said this, trying to convince herself as much as Jim. Jim nodded and said, "Well I'm glad we got that out of the way." He didn't believe that anymore than Aisha did.

Jim leaned back on Aisha's bed; feeling less tense then he noticed her long braided tail. "Hey Aisha, have you ever thought about getting your hair cut a little?" he asked. Aisha flicked her pony tail around and began running her hands over the braids and asked, "Why? Don't you like it?" "Yea it looks great." Jim said quickly. "I just think it would look better if you could wear it down, without the braid, and if you were to wear it down now, your hair would trail behind you for a mile" Jim said with a smile. "Here, let me see." Jim said as he took the gold loop from Aisha and began undoing her braids. "See. It looks great the way it frames your face." Aisha looked into the mirror and hummed a little as she started brushing her hair again. "You're right it does look nice like that. I'll think about it." Jim handed her the ring and said goodnight.

The next week went by more smoothly between Jim and Aisha. They were almost back to normal, they had even begun to swim together again, but there was still an unspoken tension between them that everyone picked up on. One night Aisha called Jim back to her room. Jim walked in and was amazed to see Aisha with her hair cut to shoulder length. He took a minute to catch his breath and said, "You look amazing." Aisha blushed a little and said, "Thanks, I had Melfina do it not long after dinner." The two sat down and began talking about everyday stuff. Jim began to notice he was starring at Aisha. The way her hair framed her face and shoulders, but then he noticed she wasn't wearing her collar. He pointed this out. She rubbed her neck and said, "Yea. After Mel cut my hair I just didn't like the way it looked anymore." Jim began to feel his body begin to heat up as she rubbed the nape of her neck. "Come on Jim!" he thought to himself, "She's your best friend. She's 7 years older than you. SHE'S A CAT FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!" he yelled mentally. "Jim it's okay, I feel it too." Aisha said quietly. She leaned over and looked him in the eye. "When I came back I noticed that you had changed a lot too. Taller, more handsome and stronger, I'm attracted to you too." Jim began to breathe a little heavy. With his thoughts racing he asked, "Is this wrong?" Aisha shook her head and said, "It's just how we feel, right or wrong doesn't enter into it." Jim sighed and said, "That's what I've been telling myself since you got back but the fact that we're two different races keeps popping into my head, plus the difference between our ages." Aisha nodded and asked, "Me too, but it doesn't stop the feelings does it?" Jim took a deep breath and sat up, moving closer to Aisha, so close he could feel her breath brush against his skin. "No it doesn't." he said heavily. Aisha smiled a little and looked down. Jim put a hand under her chin and brought her head up to look her in the eye. She blinked and closed her eyes as Jim moved in to kiss her. He kissed her softly at first, but then once he was sure it was what she wanted he began kissing her vigorously. This went on for a few minutes. "I want this." Aisha said breathlessly. Jim continued kissing her and put a hand on her breast. Aisha reached down and put Jim's other hand on her breasts and he gave them a gentle squeeze. They continued kissing as Aisha ripped off Jim's shirt. They broke apart as Jim finished undressing. Aisha was taking her blouse and skirt off as she closed the sound proof door Jim had made. They came together on the bed and resumed kissing just as fiercely, Jim was about to begin when he hesitated. He pulled away from Aisha's embrace and asked, "Are you sure?" Her reply was to pull him back in to her kiss and to buck her hips against his. The first stroke seemed like an eternity. Jim waited for Aisha to begin moving again, knowing that it hurts the first time for women. They were together for what seemed like years and seconds at the same time; forever, but still not long enough. Aisha arched her back and dug her nails into his shoulders, producing ten points of blood. Jim enjoyed the pain, his every sense was heightened; everything felt good. They climaxed at the same time. Jim thought he was going to pass out, it felt so good and Aisha roared in pleasure leaving Jim temporarily deaf. He rolled off of her and the two just laid there, panting. "I…I can't believe we just did that." Jim said, still out of breath. Aisha rolled toward him and purred, "That was amazing. Oh, you're bleeding; do you want me to bandage those?" Jim was still in ecstasy so he didn't notice the numerous scratches on his back and the one on his face. "I just want to lay here, with you, that's all I want right now." Aisha leaned closer to him and lowly said, "Sounds good to me." as she began kissing him again. Hours went by, the two of them together, naked bodies entwined.

Jim was the first to stop. "Everyone will be getting up soon, and I'm starving. Let's go into the bathroom and clean up these scratches. They aren't in places where we can really bandage them, but we can do something about the blood trails." he said with a chuckle. Aisha winced when Jim mentioned the scratches. "I'm sorry if I hurt you Jim, I am an animal after all." Jim went back over to where she was dressing, leaned down and kissed her saying, "I wouldn't have it any other way." Once they washed the dried blood from his back, they went down to the kitchen. "Jim aren't you going to put on a shirt?" Aisha asked somewhat nervously. "Nah, as I move, some of these are going to open up and I'd bleed through my shirt so why hide them." Jim answered with a shrug. Aisha sat at the table as Jim got some bacon and eggs going. "You do know Gene will know about us the moment he sees these marks on my back, don't you?" Aisha nodded, "I don't care. We both agreed that last night was what we wanted. If he can't accept that his friend is in love with a Ctarl-Ctarl, then he isn't much of a friend." Jim shivered at the word "love". He then quietly asked, "And is his friend loved back?" Aisha just walked over and kissed him, and then asked, "What do you think?"

They were almost done eating when Gene came downstairs. Gene yawned a good morning to them, oblivious to the fact that Jim was shirtless and covered in scratches and the fact that he and Aisha were practically sitting in the same chair. "Good morning." The young lovers said in unison. Gene drank a cup of coffee then he noticed. "Jim, what happened, it looks like you were attacked by some kind of animal." Jim and Aisha laughed as Gene put two and two together. He stuttered at first, and then finally choked out, "No. No, there's no way. Is there?" he add the last bit faintly. Jim's reply was to pull Aisha over and kiss her just a passionately as he'd seen Gene kiss Melfina. Gene started to say something, then feinted. "Aisha, pick him up and put him on the couch for me please." Jim said, still laughing. She didn't say anything, she just moved him to the couch. "It reminds me of when we were on Tenrei. He fell into my bath, which was much too hot for a human and quickly got out. Then he peeked back at me and fell off of the rock he'd climbed onto." Aisha said as she whipped a tear from her eye. Jim started to say something but he noticed Aisha's ears twitching. Aisha then said, "I'll be back in a few minutes." She walked up the stairs without saying anything else.

"Aisha I'm happy for you and Jim but you have to tell me, do you really want to be with him or are you just trying to make him feel better?" Melfina asked in a tone Aisha had never heard from her. "I saw you two kissing down there, and it doesn't take a computer like Gilliam to figure out how he got those scratches Aisha." Aisha was again taken aback by Melfina's comments. She took a deep breath and said, "If what I feel for Jim isn't love, then I don't know what love is." Aisha chuckled a little and asked, "Mel you remember giving me my hair cut, right?" Melfina nodded. "That was the first time my hair has ever been cut. I did it because Jim said he'd like to see me with my hair down. We aren't the only Human-Ctarl pair. It's actually become quite common. In most cases though, they don't last. We Ctarl-Ctarl are very maternal by nature and we can't have children with humans like some other races." Melfina exploded "So what? You're just going to get your kicks then leave him? How could you even think of doing that?" Melfina could have gone on for hours like that but Aisha cut her off. "Melfina, I said in most cases. Our case is different. I couldn't have children if I wanted to. The doctors told me when I was very young, I'm barren." This made Melfina feel bad about what she had said, she too wanted to be a mother but couldn't be. "I…I'm so sorry Aisha, I didn't think. I know what it's like to want children and not be able to conceive. In the four years since they woke me from my cold sleep I've never once had a period, so either those organs don't work, or I don't have them anymore." Aisha smiled, "It's okay Mel, you were just worried your "son" would get hurt. He did get a little scratched up." Aisha said with a laugh. "Now, let's go try to wake up your husband."

Jim blushed when he saw Melfina coming down stairs; it got worse when she winked at him. Once Gene came out of his stupor he took Jim into the garage for a one on one. "Well bud, looks like you've finally become a man." Gene said in a mocking tone, then he turned serious, "Jim I know I haven't been the best example but trust me, wanting Aisha won't be enough. I have no doubt that last night was one of the best nights of your life, but if you just "want" Aisha, you'll end up hurting her and yourself. Did I want Iris and Hilda? Yes, but I didn't love them. Hilda would have taken it in stride, but Iris hates me. Jim, Melfina consumes my every thought. I need her to be complete. If she is hurting, sad, or mad I HAVE to do everything in my power to make her feel better. That's love. Is that how you feel for Aisha? Judging from all of the scratches I'd say you want her pretty badly." Jim was shocked by how Gene was talking to him. He was treating him like an adult, not a kid or even a friend, just as a man. "Gene, when I found out about Hanmyo it punched a hole in me like you can't imagine, but you and Melfina helped me get over it. Then Aisha came back and for the first time I noticed how beautiful she is, I began to need her to smile, need her to be happy and I did what I could to make sure she stayed that way. The other night, she caught me watching her swim and told me to meet her in her room. She wanted to talk about how distant I'd become. She thought it was because of Hanmyo, Mel told her the story. I fell over laughing like you would and told her not to worry, that she was what had been bugging me. We talked about what we were feeling and we went back to normal, but not quite. We could both feel that there was something else there. Then last night she called me into her room to see her hair cut. I notice she wasn't wearing her collar and when I pointed it out she rubbed her neck, when she did that Gene, my body caught fire. I kept telling myself no, you can't. Then out of nowhere she says it's okay, that she feels it too. We talked about right and wrong, and then I kissed her." Jim stopped here and reminisced then said, "You know what happened next. I love her Gene." Gene walked over to him and put a hand of his shoulder and said, "Then I'm happy for the both of you, and come here, I have a few things for you." Gene walked over to a workbench and pulled out a big case from underneath. He opened it up and pulled out a caster, gun belt and a set of light shield gloves like his. "I found this not long after we met, been saving it until you were ready. I think your man enough now." Gene said as he tossed the belt to him. "Thanks Gene." Was all Jim could say. Gene smiled ruffed his hair up and said, "Come on, let's eat."

After everyone was finished eating and poking fun at Jim he went to take the dishes to the kitchen when his back opened up and dropped the plates. Aisha and Melfina both jumped to his side. "I'm okay." Jim said as he slowly stood up. Melfina and Aisha both said "No you're not." Melfina helped him to his chair and said, "We need to clean these up." Jim shrugged and said, "There's no point, you can't wrap them so just let them close on their own." Gene went into the bathroom and came back, before anyone saw what it was he poured alcohol down his back. Jim screamed so high the glass on the floor vibrated. "All done." Gene said as he turned around. Aisha started to growl but Jim stopped her saying, "He's right, even if he is an asshole. Hey Melfina do you have any lotion?" Melfina shook her head. "Okay, get some oatmeal and mix it up really thick, like a paste, we'll put it on after these close." Jim said with a sigh. "Oatmeal" Gene, Mel, and Aisha said in unison. "It acts as a natural moisturizer; it will keep the skin on his back more flexible." Suzuka quietly commented "and Jim, you may have sound proofed that room, but I can still feel the vibration when Aisha roars." Jim and Aisha looked at each other and both turned bright red. The other three just started laughing. Gene said, "Now I want you two to practice safe sex." and he tossed Aisha a pair of oven mitts. Melfina couldn't help but laugh. Jim took the mitts from Aisha and tossed them back saying, "You know, I kinda like the scratches." The look on Gene's face was enough to make everyone laugh at him. Melfina was able to stop laughing long enough to say, "Jim, I'm glad you've found someone to love. Now do you understand what I meant when I told you that telling Gene I love him was natural?" Jim bent slowly, mindful of his back, to kiss Aisha. "Yes. It's like … it's like you're just suppose to say it. Like that connection makes you a part of the other, right?" Melfina smiled and hugged Gene and then said, "Yes, like you're two halves of the same whole. I hope you two find a way to… um, well… express it without you getting hurt Jim." Jim smiled and said, "Me too. Ah, Mel quit fighting it; you look so goofy when you try not to laugh." Melfina apologized and excused herself from the table. She didn't make it halfway to her room before she burst into laughter. Jim shook his head then said, "Well I've stopped bleeding, Aisha I'm gonna go lie on my bed, bring that oatmeal mixture up, okay?" Aisha nodded. "Don't feel bad" Jim said as he saw the look on her face "Neither one of us had any measure of control last night." He went up the stairs, leaving Gene and Aisha alone. They sat and looked at each other for a few moments before Gene stood up and told Aisha, "I'm happy for you two, just don't break him." Aisha blushed and nodded. Gene smirked and asked, "Do you really roar when you finish?" Gene suddenly found himself on the floor with a foot on his face. He managed to mumble an apology. "Keep asking questions like that and our next adventure will be in his room." Aisha then took the oats up to treat Jim's back. "Aisha wait." He called. He met her at the stairs and handed her a bottle of whiskey. "Give him some of this and he'll fall asleep after you put the paste on his back." Aisha thanked him and continued up the stairs.

Jim winced as Aisha spread the oatmeal over his scratched back. "I'm so sorry I hurt you Jim." Jim turned enough to look at her without aggravating his back and said, "Don't worry about it. Besides, it kinda added to it." Aisha blinked a couple times. "Did I give you too much whiskey?" Jim chuckled "No. I felt it every time you scratched me last night. I didn't say anything because; they seemed to heighten the other sensations." Aisha thought for a moment, trying to think of something else to talk about. "Hey do you know how Gene got all those scars on his body? I noticed that some of them on his arms match, like the cut went from arm to arm." She asked, she had been wondering about that for some time. "When the McDougals attacked his father's ship, his dad was wounded badly so he just threw Gene into the one escape pod that was on the ship. Gene doesn't know how long he was adrift but he says it seemed like forever. Luckily he was caught in a gravity well and was drifting towards Sentinel III. The pod was damaged so it only slowed enough to keep from burning up; it crashed though, hard. He had to rip his way out. That's how he got the scars." Aisha thought that was kinda funny and said, "He probably just made that up." Jim sat up, his back more flexible now and looked Aisha in the eye. "No he didn't. The way he told the story… I could feel the metal cutting into my arms and chest and then… then I saw the pictures of the pod. The story is true, don't bother asking to see the pictures though, he got drunk one night and burned them." Jim hiccupped with that and told Aisha to stay while he slept and to wipe the paste off after another ten minutes.

Melfina came in as Aisha was wiping the last of the oatmeal off of Jim's back. "Hey Mel, weird day, huh?" Aisha asked. Melfina just smiled and said, "I'm just happy for you both. It's hard to believe how much he's grown." Aisha nodded and said, "I know, seems like it wasn't a week ago that he was just a little kid and now he's just as much of a man as Gene. Melfina, what was it like for you, loving Gene but not being able to tell him?" Melfina sat down next to Aisha on the floor. "Sometimes it was very hard. I'd be sitting alone with him at night just watching TV until I feel asleep and I found it wasn't my own problems that were keeping me awake, it was him and not being able to tell him how I felt for him. But once we were in the Leyline, we could hear how we felt for each other and the relief was amazing, even though it took a long time for him to say it to me out loud, I knew he loved me." Aisha smiled and leaned her head back on the bed, "The last three weeks have seemed like years. When I came back and saw how much he'd changed I was amazed. He'd become so handsome and strong, but his personality didn't change at all. He was still that goofy little boy on the inside. It didn't take me long to realize what the feelings were, but once I had it made it so much harder to be around him. Then he seemed depressed so I asked him about that old girlfriend you told me about, thinking that was what was bothering him and he told me that I was what was bothering him. He told me things that let me know I wasn't the only one struggling inside. Then when we kissed, we both knew." Melfina blushed a little then asked, "Was last night your first time as well?" Aisha smiled and replied, "Yes. It hurt at first, but… let's just say it was worth it." Aisha and Melfina both laughed. Aisha sighed "Ya know Mel, I didn't think I'd be able to have, you know, girl to girl talk with you about this, with the way you feel for Jim and everything." Melfina nodded "It is a little awkward, but I know he's not really my son. Plus you're a very good friend to me so I don't mind. Speaking of family, what will your family think of your being with a human?" Aisha looked down, with sadness in her eyes. "They kinda disowned me when I left the Imperial Forces. It hurt but then I realized, I never wanted to go to the academy or be an Imperial Officer, I'd only ever done what they wanted me too, so I decided to do something that I genuinely wanted to do. I hope they will come around but if they don't, they don't." Melfina was surprised by this and just blinked a few times. "You gave up your family for us?" Melfina asked quietly. Aisha shrugged "They were more like people I'd known for a long time than family Mel. I was sent to the academy when I was five years old and never really spent much time with them after that so it wasn't hard. You, Gene, Suzuka and especially Jim are the only real family I have." Melfina nodded and said, "I never noticed how much you and I have in common Aisha." Out of nowhere Jim sat up, popped his neck and said, "And I never noticed how much you two talked." Aisha and Melfina both blushed then asked what he was doing out of bed. "I'm fine now. The paste has softened up the scabs and the skin on my back so I'll be okay to move around." Jim said as he carefully stretched.

Despite the protests of Melfina and Aisha he went downstairs to get something to eat and put the whiskey up. "Hey Gene, thanks for the whiskey, knocked me out like a light." Gene smiled and said, "No problem bud, you okay to be up?" Jim nodded and repeated what he had already told Aisha and Melfina, who had joined him on the couch. "Jim, where did you learn that oatmeal trick?" Melfina asked. Jim smiled at her and said, "From my mom. It works great on anything that you need your skin to be moist for. Not long before she died, I got a REALLY bad sunburn and she made me take an oatmeal bath. I thought it was weird and nasty but once I'd soaked for a while, it stopped itching. I've even used it on Gene a couple times, but he was passed out drunk so he doesn't remember." Jim laughed at the last part but Gene just shrugged.

The four of them past the afternoon just sitting and talking like the old friends they were. Suzuka had left earlier to run some errands. Melfina got dinner going as Aisha applied another batch of oatmeal to Jim's back. "Ten minutes?" Aisha asked when she was done spreading it. Jim said yes and just laid on the couch thinking about everything that had been happening. Jim closed his eyes for a moment then when he opened them he found Suzuka sitting in the corner of the room. "Ya know, we've known each other for the better part of four years and I'm still not used to the way you just show up." Jim said sarcastically. Suzuka shrugged "Jim I… I'm happy for you and Aisha. I hope things work out well for the two of you." Jim was a little surprised as Suzuka seemed to be opening up, something she never did. "Thank you." was all Jim could say. "Here, the next time you and Aisha are… intimate, burn these." She said as she handed Jim a pack of incense. Jim gave them a sniff and said, "These don't smell very good." Suzuka smiled and said, "The smoke will smell better, and I think you'll like the effect they have on Aisha. Hide them until you are ready and then hang on." She laughed as she left the room. She past Aisha on the way out of the room but didn't say anything. Jim had just enough time to stick the pack under his mattress before Aisha came in. She sniffed a couple of times and became flush. "Wow. Something smells good." She said as she began to clean off Jim's back so they could go down to dinner. "I wonder what's in those things" Jim thought to himself as he walked with Aisha downstairs to see what Mel had prepared for dinner. The five of them ate together in a good mood. Gene made a joke about kittens and Melfina stomped on his foot. After dinner Melfina went to bed early saying that the strange day had really taken it out of her. Jim was asleep on the couch with his head in Aisha's lap. Suzuka had gone out for a while and Gene was drinking a beer. "Well, I think I should get him to bed." Aisha said as she hooked an arm under Jim's legs and started up the stairs. "Gnight Aisha." Gene said. "What next" he thought to himself.

Aisha carefully laid Jim down on his bed, lying on his side. She started to leave when Jim told her to stay with him. He moved over and Aisha laid down next to him. "I love you Aisha. Good night." Jim said drowsily. Aisha kissed him and told him she loved him and they both settled into a more peaceful sleep than either of them could remember having before.

After two weeks had past, Jim's back had healed and everyone was pretty accustomed to the two being together. It was late and everyone but Jim Aisha and Gene had gone to bed. Aisha stood up and took Jim by the hand and led him back to her room. She began to take her clothes off when Jim remembered the incense Suzuka had given him. He hastily ran to his room to get them. Ignoring a comment from Gene about blood loss he ran back to Aisha's room. He found her under a sheet, all of her clothes on the floor. He put the incense in a flowerpot Aisha had and lit them. Before he could get his shoes off Aisha was breathing very hard. "Where did you get those." She said, pointing at the incense. Jim was beginning to really question what they were when he said, "Suzuka gave them to me, she said to burn them the next time you and I made love. She said I'd like the effect they had on you. She also told be to hold on. What are they?" Aisha rolled her head and said, "Basically it's what you would call catnip, but it's different. With the stuff from your planet, cats act silly. With this, from Ctarl, it arouses us like nothing else. She was right to tell you to hold on." She then leapt at him and jumped back to the bed. Jim didn't even have a chance to realize where he was before Aisha began making love to him. She was so much more passionate that he was a little scared but it felt great so he put it out of his mind. Jim was in ecstasy the entire time. Then Aisha's entire body tensed and she roared louder than anything Jim had ever heard. Neither one of them could speak they were so out of breath so they just held each other. Once he had recovered, Jim stood and went over to where the incense were still burning and put them out. "I think I'll save these for another night." He said, still panting. Aisha was still in her own world.

As Jim turned to go back to the bed, his hip popped very loudly. It didn't hurt until he hit the floor, then his hip exploded in pain. He called for Aisha but it didn't do any good. He couldn't stand so he crawled over to the bedside table where his phone was. "God this is going to be awkward." Jim said as he punched in Suzuka's number. "Jim, it's the middle of the…" Jim cut her off, "Suzuka, I need your help. My hip has slipped out of joint and Aisha is still in her own world from those incense you gave me. Will you help me?" He heard rustling as she was getting out of her bed. "Suzuka one thing, we're both naked so…" The door opened and Suzuka just came in like nothing was out of the ordinary. She went over to the bed and covered Aisha with a sheet. "Okay, lay all the way back on the floor for me." She said as she looked at his misshapen joint, seeming not to notice he was completely naked. "Listen, despite the pain you have to relax. Think of the most calming thing you can." She said almost gently. Jim tried but all he could think of was the pain. He heard Suzuka sigh then she said, "Imagine you're holding Aisha in your arms, kissing her." Jim closed his eyes and he began going over the feelings holding Aisha and what it was like to kiss her. Just as he began to relax, his hip exploded, he yelled so hard he tasted blood. Suzuka helped him into a chair and noticed the glare in Jim's eyes. "If I had warned you when it was about to pop back into joint, you would have tensed and it would have hurt ten times what it did. Hmm, I see what Aisha's been roaring about." Suzuka said with a strange tone so that Jim couldn't tell if she was joking or if she was actually impressed. "Get some clothes on and come into the kitchen, I'll get you something to drink and some medicine for your hip." Suzuka said as she walked out of the room. Jim slipped into his pants and limped down the stairs. Jim sat down at the table where there was a cup of tea and three pills waiting for him. He looked at the pills and then noticed Suzuka by the stove. He looked again and said, "Aren't you only supposed to take one of these?" Suzuka shrugged and said, "If you want to be able to walk at all for the next few days, I suggest you take them." Jim nodded and downed the pills with a swig of tea. "Thank you for your help Suzuka. I can't imagine asking Gene for help in that situation. You aren't going to tell him about this are you?" Suzuka laughed and said, "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. I have to ask though, you knew you would end up getting hurt, but you still went back for more. Why? Have you become a sex hound?" Jim shook his head, "I just love her. I love the way she makes me feel and seeing how as I still haven't recovered all of my hearing I'd say she likes the way I make her feel. I think if it weren't for those "Ctarlnip" incense we would have been fine. Please don't tell Aisha about my hip. She felt awful about the scratches on my back, I don't want her to know about this." Suzuka just laughed again and told him not to worry about it. "When do you think she'll snap out of it? It's been two hours since she passed out." Suzuka took another sip of tea and said, "I don't know. I'm told those "Ctarlnip" incense, as you put it, are very powerful. The effect varies base on the individual and the intensity of the event." Jim laughed and said, "In that case, if I were in her shoes, I'd be out for at least a week."

Jim thanked Suzuka again for her help then went back to Aisha. She was starting to come around but still wasn't back, so he just laid next to her and went to sleep. Aisha woke up a few hours after Jim had come to bed. "I've got to air this room out." she said, still flustered from the incense as she went to open the window. Aisha sat and started rubbing Jim's head, trying to wake him up. "Good morning." Jim said drowsily. Aisha laughed and said, "More like afternoon. Let's go get something to eat." As they got dressed Jim hoped Aisha wouldn't notice the slight limp in his gait. When they got downstairs, Gene looked up and said, "Bout time. Look Aisha, that door is sound proof, USE IT; you scared the shit out of me last night." Jim started laughing. Aisha just blinked then asked, "The door was closed and you still heard me?" Melfina giggled a little and said, "Aisha I think the whole town heard you." Jim sat on the couch and told them that last night was different. "We're going out for lunch, do you and Gene want to join us?" Jim asked as he took the medicine for his hip. "No thanks, we already ate. I see you didn't get scratched up this time." Melfina said as she pulled his collar down to see his back. "Yea, but I'm still about half deaf." This made everyone but Aisha laugh, she just stood by the door blushing.

Jim and Aisha ate lunch at a local restaurant and then went for a walk in the park near the shop. "So do you think we should keep using those incense or not? You really scared me when you jumped me last night." Jim said with a laugh. Aisha was still kinda embarrassed that everyone had heard her and said, "Let's wait until I can control myself a little better. By the way, is your hearing back to normal yet?" Jim shrugged and said, "More or less. Besides, I like the roaring part; it lets me know I'm doing a good job." They both laughed at that as they turned back toward the shop. Aisha stopped, "Jim why are you limping? Did I hurt you again?" Jim turned and just told her he pulled a muscle last night, hoping she would believe her. "Come on, let's get back to the shop." Aisha nodded, "Kay. It's been kinda slow lately, how are we doing for money?" "You're right it has been slow, but Suzuka has been putting in half of her "profits" so we're okay for now." Jim said as they neared the shop.

They arrived at the shop to find Gene had gone out on a repair job. "That's strange. He usually has me do the repairs." Jim said as he poured a cup of coffee. "Jim come here for a minute please." Melfina asked as she motioned up to her room. Once in Gene and Melfina's room Mel shut the door sat down on her bed. "Jim, why didn't you call me last night? You know I would have helped you." Jim shrank when he realized that Suzuka had told her. "I thought about it at first, but then I realized Gene would probably wake up when your phone went off and that you might not know how to pop my hip back in, that's why I called Suzuka. Besides, it was kinda her fault." Melfina nodded and agreed with his reasoning when it came to Gene but then said, "One of the things that's programmed into this chip is anatomy. I'm pretty much a doctor. But how is it Suzuka's fault that you got hurt." Jim laughed and explained about the incense. "That's why you all heard her roar last night, she somewhere between high and on steroids. Once the smoke took effect, she jumped on me while I was by the door and then jumped us back to the bed. She was nuts, but in a good way. Plus my hip might not have had anything to do with her. All you have to do to dislocate something is move the wrong way, then POP." Melfina started to say something when Jim held up his hand, straining to hear something. "Damn it, she heard us." Jim went downstairs to find Aisha crying. "Hey, you heard what I said, I probably wasn't your fault." He said, trying to get her to calm down. She wiped her eyes and said, "You know that's not true. Jim if we keep on like this I'm gonna end up killing you." She began to cry again and Jim sat down to hold her. "Come on, you know you're getting better at controlling yourself. It was just those incense, they made you lose control." Jim said, still trying to consul her. "Jim, I can lift almost a full ton. With that kind of strength, all I'd have to do is squeeze wrong when I hug you and I could kill you. Then take into consideration how excited I get when we make love, it would be so easy for me to make a mistake. Maybe we should just…" "No." Jim cut her off. "I love you Aisha, and you love me. I won't let something like this drive us apart. Just trust yourself. Remember last week? It was great and you didn't even scratch me." Aisha had stopped crying by now and was looking up at Jim, "You're right. I just worry, I love you." Jim gave her a light kiss on the cheek and told her he loved her. Melfina was standing in the kitchen smiling at the way Jim and Aisha were holding each other. She brought them both a cup of tea and laughed a little, "And I thought there was drama between Gene and I." All three of them laughed and the rest of the day pasted in a pleasant mood.

Jim's hip healed quickly. He used his swimming routine as physical therapy and was soon back to 100%. "Hey Jim, come up here." Gene called from the roof. Jim got out of the pool and went up the stairs that led to the roof. "What's up?" he asked, finding Gene standing by the edge of the roof, looking towards the space port. "Ah, not much I was just thinking about you and Aisha. I was wondering if there was something you could give her to calm her down a little so you don't get hurt." Jim sat on the ledge next to Gene and said, "We've thought about it, but most tranquillizers kill any sex drive. She's been getting better at keeping her strength under control. I just wish I could get her to stop roaring." He and Gene both laughed at the last part. "Kiss her." Gene said, once they had stopped laughing. "What do you mean, I kiss her a lot." Jim said with a curious look on his face. "No you moron. Can you feel it when she's about to… you know" Gene said with a wave of his hand. Jim laughed, "Yes Gene I can feel it when she's about to orgasm." Gene nodded and said, "Right when you feel that change in her, kiss her. Kiss her with everything you've got. It works. You'd never guess it but Melfina's a screamer." Jim cringed at that last bit and then said, "Thanks for the tip, but come on man; you don't have to share everything." Gene laughed and said, "I know, I just love that look you get on your face." Jim rolled his eyes and then looked at the greenhouse. "So how many shells do you have in the hold?" Jim asked, looking through the glass at the press used for making the caster shells. "I've got 100 of each." Gene answered as he walked over into the greenhouse. "These are yours." Gene said as he came out with a large suite case. "There are 50 of each type in there. Have you been practicing with your caster any?" Jim looked over the 850 shells then said, "No, the sights are the same as the ones on my normal gun, all I have to allow for is the different recoil, but I'm not nervous to pull the trigger." Gene nodded then looked off towards the port. Jim thought Gene was acting a little strange, "Was there something else, Gene?" Gene shook his head, and then ran a hand through his ragged red hair. "I was just thinking about how much all of us have changed. I'm married, you're in love, and Suzuka is starting to act like a human. Next thing you know Mel or Aisha will be pregnant." Jim stiffened when Gene said this. "Gene Melfina can't have kids." Gene turned, "Why not, she is human." Jim shook his head and said, "Sometimes you amaze me Gene, you've never noticed in the almost 5 years you've known her that she doesn't have a period." Gene blinked a couple of times and then got a pained look on his face. "That's why she looked sad when she saw them." Jim snapped up and asked, "Saw what?" "Gene looked down and said, "A box of condoms." Jim just shook his head and made several comments involving Gene's intelligence and a box of feces. "Well, if there's one thing we both know about Melfina is that she's just about the most understanding person there is." Jim said once he regained his composure. Gene sat on the ledge and asked, "What about Aisha? Once I got over the shock of you two being together I did some research. Ctarl women want to be mothers more than anything, and they can't have children with humans like some of the races." Jim nodded sadly. "She's barren. I hate it for her but at the same time it means she'll stay with me. Is that wrong?" Gene shrugged and said, "It's a little greedy but you need her and she needs you, so it's just the way it is. Have you two given any thought to getting married?" Jim shrugged, "We know we love each other, that's all that matters. Plus I don't think I could get a marriage license, I'm only 15." Gene smirked and said, "15 and getting more tail than me. There's something wrong with that." Jim laughed and said, "She is an animal after all." Not long after that last comment Melfina called from the deck that dinner was ready.

After dinner Aisha and Jim were just kicking back in the hot tub. "You heard me talking with Gene earlier, didn't you?" Jim said as he switched sides of the tub, now sitting across from Aisha. She nodded and said, "There's nothing wrong with it Jim. I made peace with the fact that I can't have children a long time ago. I would like to get married though." Jim thought for a moment and had an epiphany, "Gene's a ship's captain!" Aisha blinked a few times and asked what was so important about that. Jim laughed, "Aisha, he can marry us. It's a tradition that came from the old sailors from Earth. Captains can marry people; you just have to be a certain distance from shore, or in this case, ground. Do you want me to ask him?" Aisha smiled and thought for a moment. "Na, let's wait a while. I'd like to get married on Ctarl anyway." Jim nodded then kissed her. They kissed for a few minutes then Jim pulled away and said, "I'm gonna put in a few more laps before bed, wanna join me?" She shook her head and said, "I'll just watch." She watched the way Jim moved through the water. She would cringe a little when she saw the scars on his back but then she remembered what that night was like and she felt better. She laughed a little as she thought to herself, "My parents are going to hate me. Even more that is." She continued watching Jim; the way his pulled and pushed against the water, using every muscle in his body to propel himself. She began to feel a fire build inside her. She stood and leapt a good 20 feet into the air and did an impressive somersault dive into the deep end of the pool. Jim started to comment but then he noticed that Aisha had slipped her top off. He smiled and met her in the middle of the pool. They began kissing each other as Aisha moved them both over to one side of the pool. Jim pulled off his trunks and slipped off Aisha's bottom. Then Aisha put her back against the wall of the pool and they made love this way for half an hour. Jim was getting close to the finish line when he heard a noise behind him. He stopped and noticed that Aisha was starting to laugh. He sighed and put his chin on Aisha's shoulder and whispered, "We just got caught, didn't we?" He felt her nod and they both began laughing. He heard Melfina laughing behind him and he though he heard Gene mention something about the pools filtration system. "Do you two mind, we're kinda busy." Jim called out, without turning around. He didn't think he could look Melfina in the eye right now.

When they had finished they went inside to find Gene and Melfina sitting on the couch. Melfina started to giggle when she saw Jim, who turned bright red. Aisha just laughed and said, "You two should try it. The water adds another dimension to it." Jim started laughing now and said to her, "Aisha, I think that's what they were about to do." Aisha blinked a couple of times as Gene cussed, then commented, "They should have joined us." Gene and Jim yelled, "NO WAY!" at the same time. Aisha shrugged and said, "What? We're all good friends; we've all seen each other naked so what's wrong with it?" Jim and Gene both almost collapsed. "Aisha, you might recall how I feel about Melfina? Do you really think I could make love to you in the same room with her, while she and Gene were doing the same thing?" Jim said in a pained tone. Gene was just sitting on the couch shaking his head.


	4. Dreams of An Old Foe: Training

Dreams of An Old Foe: Training

One week before Gene and Melfina's first anniversary, everyone was relaxing in the main room of the Starwind and Hawking shop; which was just as much a home as a business. It was getting late and Melfina was nodding against Gene's shoulder. Aisha yawned and said, "Well, I'm going to bed, Gnight." She kissed Jim as she went back to her room. Although they had been together for over six months, Jim still slept in his room most nights. The near silence of Aisha's sound-proof room played tricks on his mind. Gradually, everyone said their goodnights and made their way to bed.

Later that night, Jim was tossing and turning in his sleep. He then bolted upright yelling, "MELFINA!" He regained his senses and wiped the sweat from his brow and went down to the kitchen. "This is getting old." He said as he got the whiskey and a glass. He sat at the table and poured a drink when from out of nowhere someone asked, "What's going on, Jim?" He looked behind him to find Gene getting another glass from the cabinet. Jim poured Gene a drink, shrugged and said, "Just bad dreams." Gene nodded as he took a swig then said, "We've noticed. Mel and I have been hearing you Jim. Last night, you yelled out "stay away from her" and the night before that, you screamed "kill me too" I went to check on you that first night but you were asleep when I got to your room. Melfina and I want to know what you've been dreaming about. She's worried about you and so am I. You yell out tonight and now I find you drinking, you never drink alone. Talk to me Jim." Jim shot back what was in his glass then said two words that made Gene's skin crawl, "Harry McDougal." Gene took another sip then said for Jim to go on. "Basically, he kills you, Suzuka and Aisha and takes Melfina." He said this through clenched teeth. "He kills all of you, but just punches me in the gut, leaving me on the ground to watch as he drags Melfina away, screaming. Screaming your name; screaming for help. I was just too weak, I couldn't do anything." A tear ran from the corner of Jim's eye as he stared at the bottle on the table. Gene took a moment to think about what Jim had said. Then told him, "Jim, I don't know why you're having these dreams, but I can tell you first hand, Harry is dead and…" Jim looked up as Gene paused and said, "Go on." Gene nodded and said, "Before he died, he changed. He helped me save Mel and told me to be with her. I think he accepted the fact that Melfina wasn't his." Jim sighed and began to say something but Gene cut him off, "Go stay with Aisha tonight. Leave the door open or crack the window a little for some noise. Trust me, being with her will calm you down more than this." He said as he took Jim's glass. Jim thanked him for the advice; now feeling better after talking about it, and went to Aisha's room.

Jim slowly opened the door and found her fast asleep. Just the sight of her made him feel better. He left the door open slightly and then laid down next to her. He put an arm around her and drifted off to sleep as she purred a little. He woke the next morning with Aisha in his arms. "Good morning," She said as he opened his eyes. "Good morning. How long have you been awake?" he asked. She shrugged and said, "Maybe an hour, I like watching you sleep. How come you didn't wake me last night? We could have had some fun." Jim pulled her a little closer and kissed her, then said, "I've been having some pretty nasty dreams lately. I talked to Gene about them last night and he told me that being with you would help me get some real sleep. He was right, as soon as I saw you last night, my mind shut up and I slept better than I have in a week." Aisha blinked then asked, "Do you want to tell me about them? It might help." Jim shook his head and said, "I'm gonna talk to everyone about them later. Do you think we could sleep together in my room, or maybe keep that window open in here? You really do help calm me down." Aisha went over to her mirror and began brushing her hair and said, "We'll figure it out." Jim went over and kissed her again and said, "I'm gonna go see if Mel has started breakfast, love you." Aisha told him she loved him and she wouldn't be much longer.

Jim and Aisha were the first ones up and the others soon joined. Jim helped Melfina cook breakfast and then they all sat down and had a nice meal. After the dishes were cleared off Suzuka said she would be leaving for a job. Before she could finish the announcement, Jim cut her off and said, "Wait. I need to talk to everyone, please come sit down." Suzuka sat down on the couch, surprised by Jim's tone. The rest of the crew joined Jim and Suzuka in the main room. Jim took a deep breath and said, "I need to talk to you guys about a nightmare I've been having for the last week, and I need your help." He then repeated the story he'd told Gene the night before, but with more detail; making Melfina shudder. Before anyone could say anything he continued, "I know he's dead, and that none of you would go down that easy, or let anything happen to Mel, but these dreams have made me realize something. I need to become stronger. I'm a decent shot with a gun or caster and I can hack just about anything with a computer chip in it, but that's it. When it comes down to fighting, I'm the weakest member of this team. Gene, you kick ass with or without a weapon; Suzuka, your martial arts skills and swordsmanship are second to none and Aisha… you're a Ctarl-Ctarl, 'nough said, I want you guys to teach me how to fight. I know the dreams aren't real, but this weakness and… the helpless feeling are." The group sat in silence for a while thinking about what Jim had said. Gene was the first to speak, "The way I fight is pretty simple: I look for an opening, then punch. I'll show you a few things, if you think you can handle it." Gene said the last part with a smirk but Jim and Aisha just laughed. "Gene, I'm in an intimate relationship with a Ctarl. I think I can take a few." Suzuka spoke up now, "Gene you teach him how to fight with a knife, and I will show him some hand to hand techniques, on one condition. Jim you must tell me why you want to train. I know you have a hard time talking about these things, so I will give you three chances. If you lie, I will not train you." Jim looked at her curiously and said, "I want to become stronger." Suzuka shook her head and said, "I want the truth, Jim." Jim thought for a moment and said, "I think that if I become stronger these dreams will stop." Suzuka once again shook her head and said, "The truth, Jim. If you want me to train you, tell me the truth." Jim gave her a hard look, and then glanced at Melfina. He got a stern look on his face and said lowly and through clenched teeth, "I've lost one mother in my life, and I will not let anyone or anything hurt Melfina. I'd die first. Happy?" Suzuka nodded and said, "Yes. You won't understand this now, but after having admitted why you want to train, the training will be easier. We will begin after the anniversary." Jim nodded and thanked her. He then went up to the roof for some fresh air.

Once on the roof Jim noticed that some of the plants need to be watered so he filled the can and watered them while thinking about what was going to happen in a week. He set the can down and went over to the corner of the roof that faced the space port and sat down. While he was looking at the ships, Melfina came and sat down next to him. They just sat together for a while then Melfina quietly said, "When Gene first told me how you felt about me Jim, he said that you loved me too, but in a different and very protective way. I guess I never really thought about how protective of me you feel." Jim nodded, still looking off into the distance then said, "You've never felt what it's like to lose someone; it leaves a hole, Mel. As time passes, you get numb to it, but it's still there. Sometimes you can fill the hole; Suzuka used revenge to fill hers. I'd gotten used to the fact that my mother was gone and then we found you. You filled my hole, Mel. I love you just as much as I did my real mother and I would do anything to protect you." Melfina smiled and said, "I love you too, Jim. Remember though, that you aren't alone. You know how much Gene loves me and Aisha is like a sister to me, Suzuka too, she just doesn't express it as much." Jim nodded and got a troubled look on his face and said, "I know. I… I just need to know that if it came down to just me, that I could keep you safe." Melfina stood and put a hand on Jim's shoulder and she could feel how tense he was. "Why don't you go swim off some of this tension while I get dinner going?" Jim nodded and thanked her for the tip. He went down the stairs to the deck and changed into his trunks and began his laps. Melfina stood watching him for a while then laughed and went inside to begin cooking.

After finishing his 30th lap Jim heard Gene yell dinner was ready. Once he had dried off and changed, he joined the rest of the crew and sat next to Aisha. "Mmm, those steaks look great, Mel." Jim said when Melfina sat the platter on the table. "Thanks, Gene helped." She said as she sat next to Gene. Jim laughed and asked, "Aisha, do you think they're safe to eat?" she just giggled while Gene responded with the standard "Bite Me." Once Jim finished his dinner he asked, "Did Suzuka say when she'd be back?" Gene shrugged and said, "She said she'd be back in about three days. So Jim have you and Aisha worked out the sleeping arrangements?" Aisha answered for Jim. "He's going to sleep in my room, the sounds from outside should be enough to keep his mind from playing tricks on him. If not, we'll work it out." Jim just smiled and said, "Yes Ma'am." This made Gene and Melfina both laugh. Jim helped Melfina with the dishes, then went and sat next to Aisha, who was half asleep on the couch. When he sat down, she let her head slide down and rest on his shoulder. Jim was smiling, watching her doze when Gene called him from the door at the top of the stairs. He carefully stood, lying Aisha all the way down and made his way up to the roof.

Jim found Gene in the rooftop greenhouse, where Gene made his caster shells. Gene was admiring one of Melfina's rose bushes when he walked in. Jim laughed and said, "I never thought I'd see you become a gardener." Gene chuckled and said, "Yea, weird, huh? Mel's made me appreciate flowers." Gene's smile faded somewhat as he sat down at his work bench. He sighed then said, "Neither of us thought I'd be a gardener…and I never thought I'd hear you sell yourself so short. You're not weak Jim. Hell, in some ways, you're stronger than I am. You might need a tip on how to throw a punch, but most of all you have to believe in yourself. You don't need to prove yourself to anyone, least of all us." Jim sat in the chair opposite Gene and nodded. Gene could see that Jim was thinking so he just sat, preparing ingredients for shells. After a few moments Jim looked at Gene and said, "I think that's the problem, Gene. I don't believe that I'm strong enough, so I have to prove it to myself." Gene set aside the shell he had been filling with sulfur and said, "I figured as much. We'll work on it together, but you have to promise me something." Jim nodded and Gene continued, "While you're training, with Suzuka or me, I don't want to hear the words "I can't" come from your mouth." Jim thought for a moment then said, "Deal." He then sighed and said "I'm gonna get my ass KICKED." Gene laughed and said, "It's the best way to learn. Come on, we've got women to attend to." Gene went down to his room to be with Melfina while Jim carried Aisha back to their now shared room. He slept soundly and peacefully through the night.

Jim woke the next morning wrapped in Aisha's arms. He carefully turned so he could see her face. She had a goofy grin on her face as if she had been dreaming of something funny. Jim smiled as he brushed a stray lock of hair out of her face. She yawned and blinked a few times then said, "Good morning. How'd you sleep?" Jim gave her a small kiss and said, "Like a baby. I'm gonna go get breakfast started." He started to get up when she pulled him back down. She got nose to nose with him and said with a smile, "You're not gonna give me a tease of a kiss like that and get away with it." He smiled and closed the remaining distance between their faces and gave her a long, passionate kiss at the end of which she said, "Now that's more like it. You go ahead, I'll be up soon." Jim got up, pulled his pants on and went down the hall to the bathroom. Jim went into the main part of the house to find he was the only one up. He made his way to the kitchen and started breakfast. He noticed a note on the fridge as he opened the door to get the eggs. It was from Gene, it just said, "Had to go get a few things, be back later – Gene" "Weird. Eh, maybe he went to get something for Mel." Jim mused as he scrambled eggs. Aisha soon joined him and he fixed some sausage and eggs for her as well as for Melfina who followed shortly after Aisha.

Gene got home around lunch and found Melfina reading and Aisha watching TV in the main room. He went up to the deck to find Jim swimming. "Hey Gene, where'd you run off to?" Jim asked as he got out of the pool. "I've been looking all over town for a couple of new toys. Finish drying off and meet me downstairs." Gene said as he held up a shopping bag. Jim went to change as Gene made his way to the kitchen. When Jim came in to the kitchen he found Gene eating a sandwich and a strange box on the table. Gene motioned for Jim to open it. Inside Jim found two sticks that looked like honing rods used on meat cleavers. "What are these?" Jim asked. Gene got a wolfish grin on his face and said, "Shock-sticks, they're what we're going to be using in your knife fight training. They won't kill you but they hurt like hell." Jim sighed and asked when they were going to begin. Gene smiled and said, "After I finish my sandwich." Jim sighed again and said, "I'll be up on the deck." Gene nodded and said, "Don't worry; it will be awhile before we use the sticks."

When Gene met with Jim on the deck, he began instructing Jim in the different types of knives, ways to use them and other basics. This went on for about two hours, and then Gene said it was time for a break. "So Gene, what are we going to work on next?" Gene gulped down the last of his tea and said, "Blocking and dodging. We'll work on this for a while then we'll talk about seeing openings. Then we get to have some real fun." Gene smiled at the last part but Jim cringed, wondering what the shock-sticks would feel like. Gene and Jim continued practicing for a couple more hours when Melfina came up to the deck. "Dinner's ready…but I think both of you could use a shower first." Melfina said with a bit of a laugh. Jim and Gene got cleaned up and joined Aisha and Melfina for dinner. While they were eating Jim asked, "So do you two have anything planned for your anniversary?" Gene paused then said, "I don't know, we haven't really talked about it that much."Melfina spoke up now and said, "Suzuka will be back tomorrow, so let's just have a nice dinner together." Everyone nodded and agreed that it was a good plan, but Jim froze in place. Aisha noticed it first. "Jim, you okay?" she asked as she waved a hand in front of his face. "Suzuka" He muttered. Gene realized what he was worried about and began laughing. Jim snapped out of it and said, "Yea, laugh it up, you're not the one she's gonna be beating the hell out of." Gene waved his hand and said, "I think you'll catch on pretty quickly. I noticed while we were working on your knife skills, you have pretty fast reflexes. You'll be fine; sore, but fine." Jim nodded with a faint smile.

"Hey Aisha, come here." Jim said up on the roof. Aisha came up the stairs from the deck and stood next to him. "What's up?" she asked. "Do you think you'll be able to watch me train without trying to save me?" She laughed as she moved a stray hair from her face then said, "I think I'll manage. I've actually been looking forward to you starting. I know you'll do fine." Jim sighed and said, "I'm not so sure, I've seen Suzuka fight and…" Aisha cut him off, "And I've fought beside her Jim. Jim, even if I hadn't seen and felt how strong you are, or how fast you react, I would still know you will do fine." Jim looked at her and asked, "Really, why?" Aisha smiled again and said, "Because I heard you describe your dreams. You won't let yourself be anything other than the best because you feel so protective of Melfina. When you told us that you would die before you let any harm come to her, I knew you were telling the truth. We all felt it. Now come on, let's quit worrying and go for a swim." Jim nodded and followed her down to the deck. They hadn't been swimming long when Gene and Melfina came up and joined them. The rest of the evening passed without worry. Jim just concentrated on enjoying the time with Aisha and the others.

Later that night, Jim began to feel anxious again. Aisha must have noticed because, without warning, she rolled over on top of him and looked him in the eyes and said, "Either you relax, or you're sleeping on the floor. You're so tense I can feel it through the…" Jim began kissing her and rolled both of them over so he was on top of her and said, "I think I found a way to relax." She smiled and resumed kissing him. They made love and for Jim, nothing else was real, other than Aisha. When they finished and were able to stop kissing, Jim settled into a peaceful sleep. When Jim woke up he went to the bathroom to clean up the two sets of scratches that ran down his arms, he looked in the mirror and thought, "Wow, these are almost identical." He laughed when he noticed how evenly spaces the five scratches on each are were. Jim went back to his now shared bedroom to find Aisha brushing her hair, which now came down to the middle of her back. He kissed her and took the brush from her and told her to turn around. As he brushed her hair he asked, "So were you able to find a present for Gene?" She shrugged and said, "I just got him a bottle of good whiskey. Shopping for Mel was so much easier." Jim nodded and said, "Yea, I got him a better light shield…" he trailed off as he reached under the mattress and pulled out something wrapped in a bag, "And I got these for Mel." He then pulled a small box from the bag and opened it showing the pink earrings inside. "Do you think she'll like them?" Aisha nodded which in turn pulled a massive knot from her hair then said, "She'll love them. What else is in the bag?" Jim laughed and said, "This one is between me and Melfina. Come on, let's go get some breakfast." Despite her gripping about seeing the other gift, she followed him into the dining room. "Good morning." Melfina said as Jim and Aisha came into the room. "Happy anniversary." Aisha said with a smile. Jim went over to the stove and gave her a hug and said, "Go sit down, you've got the day off." Melfina started to thank him when she noticed Jim's latest battle scars. She tapped his arm and laughed. Jim just shrugged, after six months, he'd gotten used to it. He was scrambling eggs when all of a sudden he asked, "Do you want one egg or two Suzuka?" Mel and Aisha both looked over at him then towards the hall to the back rooms and there stood Suzuka with a hint of a smile on her face. "Two please. How did you know I was standing here?" Aisha scoffed and said, "That's what I'd like to know." Jim platted the eggs he'd already cooked and said, "Since you left, I've been paying more attention to my surroundings. When you came in, the sound of the fountain in Aisha's room changed. I knew where everyone else was and I knew you'd be back today." Jim smiled as he looked up at her. She just nodded. Gene came down not long after that and the family of the Outlaw Star spent the next few hours talking about what had been going on and what they were going to do later for Gene and Melfina's anniversary dinner.

Jim helped Aisha prepare a nice roast and once they got in into the oven they went up to the deck where everyone else was relaxing. Jim jumped into the pool while Aisha sunbathed with Suzuka. Afternoon passed into evening while the five friends relaxed and played. Then Aisha got out of the pool and told Jim, "The timer just went off. Let's go finish dinner." Jim nodded and dried off then went down to the kitchen with Aisha. Within an hour they had the roast on the table surrounded by different side dishes and gravy. Gene carved the roast and the five of them ate and reminisced over the events of the last year and of the other adventures they'd shared. After they had all eaten far too much, it was time for gifts. Suzuka gave them a pair of matching lockets, each with the other's picture in it as well as a group photo that had been taken after the wedding. They both thanked Suzuka and put the lockets on. Then Aisha gave Gene the bottle of 30 year old whiskey and gave a large box to Melfina. She opened it to find a nice pale blue kimono. "I know it's not your usual style but I saw it and thought it would look great on you." Aisha said as Melfina took the garment out of its box. Melfina smiled and thanked her, "I think I'll try it on after we get done with the presents. Jim just smirked and tossed a box at Gene then said, "I noticed your old ones where getting a little worn out. Those gloves will put out a full body light shield and they have an area function. They can project the shield out 30 feet around you at full strength." Gene put on the new gloves to see how they fit then said, "Thanks bud. I know it's rude to ask how much a gift cost, but…" Jim cut him off and said, "I won a small hacking competition, so I had some to spare. These are for you Mel." He handed her a jewelry box which she opened to find a pair of earrings with pink stones, and a note that said, "Meet me on the roof later." She made a quick nod as she said, "Thank you Jim, they're beautiful. What kind of stones are these?" Jim smiled and said, "They're pink sapphires. I didn't have any spare Dragonite lying around, but I thought these would match your ring pretty well." Melfina held the Dragonite ring on her left hand up next to the sapphires and the colors were almost identical. She thanked Jim again and then gathered up the kimono and went to put it on while Gene opened the whiskey and poured a round for the group. While Gene was complementing Aisha on her choice, Jim took his glass and made his way to the roof. Melfina came into the dining room in her new kimono and wearing the earrings Jim had given her. Aisha saw her first and exclaimed, "You look great!" Gene and Suzuka turned to see her and it took Gene a moment to react before he finally said, "You look beautiful." She blushed a little and thanked them. Aisha looked around and then asked, "Where's Jim?" the others looked around the room, also having just noticed his absence. Melfina then said, "I'll be back in a few minutes." She then made her way up the stairs and found Jim watering the plants in the greenhouse. "Jim?" she asked as she walked in. Jim set the glass down and turned to look at her and like Gene; it took him a moment to respond to the way she looked. "Aisha was right; it does look great on you. Let's go sit outside. They went out on to the roof and sat in the chairs that faced the space port. "I wanted to give you this in private." Jim said as he handed her a box. Melfina opened the box to find it was a case for a caster. The gun itself was sky blue and a little shorter than Gene's. Melfina took the caster out and looked it over. "Thank you Jim, but why…" "I just wanted you to have a way to defend yourself it you needed to." Jim said with a shy shrug. Melfina smiled and thanked him again. Jim nodded and said, "I remember Gene teaching you to shoot. The caster works the same way but the recoil is different each time. It takes a few shots, but you'll get used to it." Mel nodded and said, "I think you're more protective of me than my husband." They laughed then Jim said, "Come on, let's go back downstairs." They got up and went inside and made their way back to the rest of the group, after a quick stop by Melfina's room to put the caster up. When they rejoined the party, Melfina just told everyone that Jim had a special present for her. Aisha smiled and winked at Melfina who knew she'd heard every word they had said on the roof. The party continued for several more hours when Suzuka told them all goodnight. Jim and Aisha went next, leaving Gene and Melfina in the main room. Gene was sitting on the couch with Melfina leaning against him. Gene shifted to get a better look at her. "Yep, fast asleep." He said with a grin. He picked her up and took her to bed. He laid her on the bed and then lay next to her. "It's been almost six years, and she still amazes me." Gene thought as he drifted off to sleep next to her.

The next morning Jim woke up feeling both relaxed and anxious. He was relaxed in that he was still wrapped in Aisha's arms and nervous because he was afraid of what Suzuka might have planned for him. Aisha woke up while Jim was worrying about this and hugged him, saying, "Don't worry, you'll be fine. Speaking of, did I hurt you last night?" Jim turned over and kissed her, then said, "Nope, not a scratch. What time is it?" Aisha turned to look at her clock then chucked and said, "Six in the morning, let's get some more sleep." She tightened her grip around him and Jim returned the embrace and kissed her. "I have to get up and do something otherwise I think I'm gonna explode. You go ahead and get some more sleep." Aisha protested some, then gave up after Jim kissed her and began getting dress. "See ya later." She said as Jim walked to the door. "See ya." Jim replied as he closed the door. He guessed she'd be out in about five minutes. The thought made him smile as he made his way to the living room.

His smiled faded somewhat when he saw Suzuka watching TV with the volume turned down, but then he just laughed. "Figures" He muttered to himself. "Good morning Jim." Suzuka said as he came into view. "Morning. Do you want some coffee?" he asked as he made his way to the kitchen. "No thank you." She said and picked up her tea cup and came into the kitchen with him. She poured herself another cup of tea as Jim brewed a pot of coffee. Suzuka laughed a little then said, "Relax Jim, all we're going to do today is work on a series of stretches I use to stay flexible. They'll also give your muscles more definition." Jim sighed and let himself relax; now that he was aware of what was in store for him. "Have you eaten?" Jim asked as his stomach growled. "No, it's better to do these exercises on an empty stomach. If you have to, just eat something small to hold you over." Jim nodded and got an apple from the fridge. Once he'd finished it, he drank a cup of coffee and then Suzuka said, "Go on up to the deck, I'll be along shortly." Jim didn't have a chance to reply as Suzuka was already gone, so he just made his way upstairs.

It was cool and bright outside with the sun a hand's breath above the horizon. Jim tried to sit while he was waiting but gave up quickly and began pacing the length of the pool. Suzuka came out onto the deck in a white kimono that looked like a dressing gown. She called Jim over and had him sit in the chair she was standing in front of. She then said, "Sit here and watch for a few minutes and then I'll walk you through the poses." She then stood with her feet together, put her arms straight out behind her back and bent forward until her torso was almost flush with her legs. She then stood; again with her feet together but this time she bent all the way backwards, her body forming a perfect arch. She went through several more complex poses then began instructing Jim in the different movements. After half an hour Jims muscles were on fire. Within another hour they were just numb. Then he went to change from one pose to another, he slipped in a small puddle of sweat and fell in a heap on the ground. "I think we'll stop for the day" Suzuka said, with a hint of a grin. Jim picked himself up and said, "Sounds good to me." Suzuka leaned back in one of the deck chairs, closed her eyes, and said, "We'll continue with the stretches each morning until you can complete this level easily. Then I will start teaching you some basic defensive techniques." Jim nodded then asked, "Levels?" Suzuka nodded as well and said, "Yes, there are five levels, each more difficult than the next, but don't worry, judging by how you've done with this set of forms, you'll do fine." Jim nodded then went over to the pool and dunked his head. "Ah, that's better. Hey Suzuka, can I ask you something?" She sat and replied, "Sure." Jim sat in the chair next to her and said, "I've researched it, but I can't find an explanation of how a Vokudo works, would you tell me?" It took her a moment to respond but then she said, "It's actually quite simple. The blade edge isn't a single edge, but three. The edges are carved in such a way that they compress the air around the weapon into a single edge finer than any blade. Other than that, it's up to the wielder's strength and reflexes." "That makes more sense than most of the crap I read." Jim said with a small chuckle. Suzuka must have noticed the somewhat puzzled look on his face because she asked, "Was there something else Jim?" Jim nodded and said, "I understand how it cuts but how does the wood stand up to everything you put it through? I've seen you deflect bullets with that thing." Suzuka replied with a wry smile and said, "That's something only those of us who are trained to use them know, a house secret if you will." Jim nodded and said, "Fair enough. Well I'm going to get something to eat, you coming?" She shook her head and said that she would be along.

After Jim ate another apple he and Aisha went out for a while. Gene and Melfina told them, "Bye" then Mel turned to Gene and said, "I'm gonna go water the plants and read for a while. Do you want to come outside with me?" Gene smiled, then said, "Maybe later. I got a call from Fred yesterday and it sounds like he might have a job for us. I'm gonna go over to his place." Melfina laughed then said, "Remind him you're married." Gene rolled his eyes and kissed her, then got up and got ready to leave.

Once Melfina finished watering the plants, she went downstairs to the deck where she found Suzuka sunbathing. Melfina got the book she'd been reading out of the little drawer in the table next to the deck chairs and sat down. Just as she found where she'd left off, Suzuka said, "You're very lucky you know." Melfina blinked then asked, "In what way?" Suzuka turned to look at Melfina, then said, "To have two good men like Gene and Jim. To have two people love you the way they do." Mel smiled and said, "I know. I'm still a little shocked by the level of Jim's devotion. The way he explained it when you pressed him…"She shuttered, remembering that morning, "It sounded like he would really be willing to die for me." Suzuka nodded, "He is an extraordinary young man. His love for Aisha is almost unbelievable and then the depth of his caring for you… with the five of us together I don't believe it would ever come to it, but I believe Jim would lay down his life for you." She said as her gaze drifted into the distance. Melfina noticed the change in Suzuka's bearing and asked, "This is making you think about him isn't it?" Suzuka took a deep breath then sighed, knowing who Melfina meant. "Yes. I just can't help but think that if I'd had…" Suzuka said then hesitated. Melfina shifted, put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Let it out Suzuka. You don't have to keep your heart locked in a box anymore." Suzuka smiled sadly then continued, "If there had been people like Gene and Jim in my life when I was a child, maybe we could have stooped Hitoriga." A single tear rolled from Suzuka's eye. Melfina nodded then said, "I'm sorry that you lost your family Suzuka, but remember, you have one now. I know it isn't the same but try looking at it the way I look at what Nguyen Khan did to me. If he hadn't kidnapped me; you and Gene none of you would be a part of my life." Suzuka nodded and said, "I do, and it does help, it's just the idea of training Jim brings back memories of training with Hitoriga. You know, you're the only person I feel I can talk to openly about these things." Melfina smiled and said, "I'm glad I can help, and if you need to, you can come to me at any time." Suzuka nodded and thanked her again, then said," I'll keep that in mind." She then stood and went inside, leaving Melfina to enjoy her book.

Gene arrived at Fred Lo's Sentinel III office and once Fred's guards opened the door Fred immediately started flirting; something Gene was at one time accustomed to, disturbed by, but He'd been able to cope with. But ever since he'd married Melfina he found it almost insufferable. "Yea, yea, okay Fred. I'm here on business, what did you want to talk to me about?" Gene said with an edge in his voice that let Fred know playtime was over. Fred sighed and said, "First I have a question for you: Are you still using that antique Caster?" Gene nodded and pulled his caster and set it on the desk. "Good. An old client of mine has offered me a rather large amount of money for any information regarding finding caster shells, so I was wondering if you had any information I could pass along." Gene laughed then said, "First, what's my cut? Second what's your client's name? I have more than a few enemies that use casters." Fred straightened somewhat then said, "I can't disclose my client's information Gene, you know that, as for compensation, I'll offer 20,000 wong." Gene rolled the number around thinking to himself, "I could use the cash, not to mention how much I'd make selling the shells, but what if it's him?" Ever since they'd left the Leyline it had bugged him that Ron McDougal's ship, the Shangri-La had been missing. Then Gene asked, "I take it you know what your client looks like?" As Fred nodded Gene took out the pocket computer Jim gave him and held it out to Fred asking, "Does your client look anything like this?" Fred looked at the picture Gene had pulled up then said, "Even if he were alive I wouldn't do business with Ronald McDougal." Gene sighed then put the computer up and said, "Good, in that case, tell your client you found someone who can make them and that it's legit." Fred laughed and said, "Oh come on Gene, you and I both know that no one can make caster shells." Gene smirked and said, "If you want a demonstration, come over to my place. I made everyone of the shells in my belt and in the surplus I have back home." Fred was silent for a moment, then he picked up the phone on his desk and told someone to get his car ready and meet him out front. They got in and made their way to Gene's home/office. As they got out of the car, Gene put a hand on Fred's shoulder, stopping him a few steps from the door and said firmly, "Before I show you anything, let me make two things clear. First, if this guy wants to buy my shells, the money is mine, you're being paid for information; in the future we can work out a percent for acting as a go between. Second, you don't tell anyone about this without talking to me first. Understand?" Fred started to protest but after Gene put more pressure on his collarbone he agreed.

"Is that you Gene?" Melfina called as she came out of the kitchen. She was surprised to see Fred in the main room, the two of them just said hi to each other. Fred had never been friendly towards Mel, but it had gotten worse since she and Gene had been married. "Fred's here to see the shells." Gene said as Melfina looked questioningly at the two of them. "Oh, are you going to sell them?" she asked. Gene nodded and said with a laugh, "Yea, if the guy will believe I can make them. Well, come on Fred, my workshop is on the roof." They made their way upstairs and when they went into the greenhouse Fred began to look even more skeptical. Gene sat at his work bench and said, "Have a seat." Fred sat and Gene began to measure out the salt needed for the shell he was making, as well as explaining how the shells were made. "You don't need any special powers to make the seventeen normal shells. All you need are the empty shells, one of seventeen chemicals, depending on which shell and an incantation. The incantation imbues the chemical with energy from your surroundings, that's why I make them in here, with all of these plants, plenty of energy." Gene then spoke the incantation low enough so that Fred couldn't hear. After the words left his mouth the plants in front of him wilted slightly and the salt in the shell began to glow with a soft green light. Gene showed the now charged shell to Fred then affixed the cap. Gene took the new shell, loaded it into his caster and said, "Let's step outside." Fred got up and followed Gene out to the corner of the roof and then Gene fired a blue-green bolt of energy from the caster. Gene turned to see and amazed look on Fred's face. Gene laughed and said, "I'll make shells for your customers that ask, but remember what I told you, you come to me first before you tell them anything." Fred just nodded with his mouth still half open. Gene laughed and said, "Come on, Melfina should have dinner ready, you're welcome to join us, but you'd better be polite to Mel. You might get your ass kicked if you not."

Jim and Aisha returned just as Gene and Fred came down to eat. Fred hadn't seen Jim in almost a year, so he began hitting on him with a renewed vigor. Jim sighed, rolled his eyes and tried to explain that he was with Aisha, but he couldn't get a word in. Finally Aisha growled loudly, and then said in a firm tone, "He's with me now." Then, as if to reiterate her point she pulled Jim into her arms and kissed him passionately. Jim returned the embrace and kiss with the same vigor he'd received them. When they separated, Jim and Aisha said "Got it?" in unison. Fred adopted a defeated expression and went to sit at the dinner table, where both Gene and Melfina sat laughing. After that little bit of drama had passed, the dinner went on pleasantly. Fred even gave Melfina several compliments on the lasagna she'd made.

The two of them made their way up to their way to their room. They settled in to bed, Aisha with her back against Jim's chest. Jim wrapped one arm around her. The two of them said I love you at the same time. Jim chuckled while Aisha purred. The two of them settled into a peaceful sleep.

Jim's alarm woke him at seven, an hour before he was to meet Suzuka. He drank a cup of coffee, ate an orange, and then went up to the deck. He inhaled sharply as he stepped out into the cool morning air without a shirt on. He began going through the forms Suzuka had shown him the previous day. He chuckled after completing the set of forms and poses. It amazed him that he remembered the entire set. Then he remembered why he was doing it and he started going through the set again. After completing the forms a third time, he sat down for a moment to let his stretched muscles relax some. "Very good Jim, I only went over that level with you three times, and you have it memorized perfectly" Suzuka said from behind him. He chuckled and said, "I had a feeling someone was watching me. It surprised me too. But then I remembered why I was training in the first place. How long were you watching me?" Suzuka came and sat next to him and said, "The whole time. I was on the roof meditating when you began. From what I saw I'd say you're lower back and left shoulder are the only areas that are giving you any trouble." Jim nodded, "They're starting to loosen up more each time I go through the forms. By the way, does this stretching series have a name?" Suzuka nodded and said, "It does, but it's another "house secret". If Melfina wasn't so important to the both of us, I wouldn't be teaching it to you." Jim nodded and thanked her, then stood and began going through the forms again, exaggerating and pausing on the form that stretched the muscles that were still giving him trouble. When he finally stopped at 10:00, he'd lost count of how many times he'd gone through the set. He sat next to Suzuka with a thump and said with a hint of humor, "I'm gonna be REALLY sore later." Suzuka smiled and said, "Go take a hot bath. Let the water run until it's just barely too hot. It will help your muscles contract without hurting too much." Jim thanked her and went downstairs and took a nearly scorching bath.

After a week of working through the first level, Jim could complete the whole set with ease. Suzuka began teaching him the second level and a few basic defensive moves. As with the previous level, Jim learned very quickly. He was both amazed and proud that he was impressing Suzuka.

Two weeks after Gene had talked to Fred about caster shells Gene got a call from Fred, who asked if he could pass Gene's info onto his client Gene gave him the go ahead. When he was off the phone he asked Jim to pull up the report they had kept of shell prices before Gene learned how to make them. The two of them worked out the average price of each shell so Gene would have something to base his prices off of in case Fred's mystery client decided to buy some.

In the third week of Jim's training with Suzuka she told him to take the defense he'd learned and apply it in a knife fight with Gene. The next morning Gene, Jim and Suzuka all met on the deck. Jim and Gene each had one of the "Shock Sticks" as Gene had called them. Suzuka gave Jim one last tip before he began, "When Gene comes at you, just take a deep breath and wait, your instincts will tell you what to do." Jim was going to ask her what she meant but was interrupted by Gene calling out, "Are we going to do this or not?" Jim turned and said, "Ready when you are." They faced off and Jim was surprised to find that he wasn't nervous at all, but calm. Then he saw Gene shift his weight forward. Jim closed his eyes and took a deep breath, when he opened them, he could see that Gene was coming at him but it seemed like he was moving in slow motion. Jim easily side stepped a lunge from Gene and scored a touch on Gene's right flank. Jim was surprised again when he saw Gene double over. "I guess these things do pack a punch." Jim thought to himself as he prepared to attack. Jim grabbed Gene's hair and pressed the hilt of the electric weapon to Gene's throat, then simply said, "I win." Jim released him and Gene shrugged it off, calling it beginner's luck. The two of them went at each other a total of ten times and each time they met, Gene's movements seemed slower to Jim. By the end of the tenth bout, Gene hadn't touched Jim once. Suzuka stepped in between the two and said, "I think Jim has demonstrated his proficiency with a blade." Gene nodded and Jim just stood there, amazed by the fact that he had beaten Gene each time. Suddenly, the edge of Suzuka's Vokudo was pushing against his throat. "You did very well Jim, even better than I expected, but don't let your guard down." Suzuka said from beside him. He smiled and nodded, "It was incredible. It was like he was moving in slow motion, and he got slower each time we fought." Suzuka nodded and said, "It's a combination of your reflexes and the fact you were expecting an attack from Gene, that's why you didn't see my attack. When we begin sparring, you'll learn to be aware of everything around you without trying." Jim grimaced somewhat at the thought of fighting Suzuka but he simply nodded and asked when they would begin, to which she replied, "Next week I will start teaching you offense and we'll go from there." Jim looked at her questioningly, but she simply laughed and said, "You don't expect me to believe that you forgot that your own birthday is this week?" Jim blinked and thought for a moment and then he began to laugh himself. Suzuka smiled and said, "Birthday or not, you've earned some time off." Jim nodded and thanked her, and then he thought of Aisha and blushed. He chuckled a little and said, "Time really does fly doesn't it. Thank you again for training me Suzuka." Again she smiled, "You're welcome Jim. I've enjoyed it so far and I think I understand you better now." She trailed off, as if thinking to herself. Jim went over to the pool and splashed some water on his face to cool down a little, then he asked Suzuka if she would like to join him for lunch. She declined and said she was going to relax on the deck for a while.

Jim went downstairs and took a quick shower. He was surprised to find Aisha still in bed, half snoring, half purring. "How'd it go?" she asked when he finally managed to wake her. Jim smiled and said, "I beat him ten out of ten." She smiled and said, "I told you you'd do fine." Jim shrugged then said, "Come on and get up so we can go out for lunch." She nodded then paused. "Lunch?" she asked. Jim laughed and said, "Yep, it's two in the afternoon." She sat up and shook her head and said, "Wow, I knew I was tired last night but I didn't think I'd sleep all day." Jim laughed again and kissed her then said, "Come on, get dressed, I'm hungry." She nodded and stole another kiss as she got out of bed. Once she'd gotten up, she dressed quickly, and with some help from Jim, made quick work of her long hair.

They went into town to a nice dinner and were surprised to see Gene and Melfina sitting together in a small booth. Melfina noticed them first and motioned for them to join them. Jim and Aisha made their way over and sat down with them. Jim and Aisha placed their orders and then the four of them fell into a pleasant conversation. "I'm surprised to see you done so soon Jim; did Suzuka let you go early?" Melfina asked. Jim nodded and said, "Actually we didn't do anything after my fight with Gene, just talked about the next steps in my training, and she gave me the week off because of my birthday. Can you believe I got so wrapped up in training that I forgot my own birthday?" All three of them laughed and answered "Yes." The food arrived shortly after that and the conversation slowed while they ate. After the meal wore down, Jim asked Gene, "So how are you feeling? I could feel that shock stick vibrate each time I got you." Gene smirked and said, "You should have felt the other end. I'm fine now, save for a couple of burn marks. For the first five or so minutes after a touch, the muscles in that area cramp up so it feels like you really are wounded." Jim cringed a little and with a mocking tone said, "Well I guess it's a good thing you didn't get in a touch." Gene got a little more serious and said, "You laugh, but I didn't stand a chance. You were moving so fast I couldn't follow you at all. It was actually kinda scary. I guess Suzuka's training is paying off." Jim chuckled a little and said, "I guess so. When we started, I couldn't believe how slowly you were moving. Then I realized I was just more aware, like I was really paying attention for the first time." Aisha laughed and asked, "So do you think you could hold up against me?" Jim shrugged and said, "I don't know. Hell, a session against you might be a part of Suzuka's plan. We're going to start offense next week, so I'll probably be sparring soon." His tone was a little distant when he brought up sparring. Gene laughed and Melfina just smiled, while Aisha mumbled, "Bout time." With that Gene paid the tab and the four of them left the dinner and went for a stroll.

The two couples walked through the park near the dinner for a while, talking amongst themselves and taking a roundabout way back home. When they finally got back to the shop, they found that Suzuka wasn't there. They spent the rest of the afternoon just kicking back and on Jim's part, catching up on little things he'd missed or blocked out during the last three weeks of training.

As the evening wore on, Melfina began working on dinner, only to find she needed to make a quick trip to the store. "Jim, will you drive me to the market, we're out of potatoes?" Jim got up and said, "Sure." Jim went to the garage and brought Efrau around front where Melfina was waiting and the two of them drove down to the market a few blocks away from the shop. Jim and Mel made small talk while she looked for some decent potatoes. Once she found and paid for them, the two began back towards the car. From behind them, a man said, "Hey honey, why don't you ditch the pipsqueak and come have some fun with a real man." Jim started to turn but Melfina gave her head a slight shake. After a few paces the man grabbed Mel's shoulder and turned her around. She shook off his hand and slapped him so hard, the red hand print swole up almost immediately. The man just shook his head and said, "That wasn't very lady like." He made a waving motion and two other men came out of the shadows. Jim positioned himself between Melfina and the strangers. Jim began to say something but the first man cut him off, "Okay, both of you, wallets and jewelry on the ground." Jim shook his head and said, "No. You and your two girlfriends get out of the way, we're leaving." The three robbers jumped him. He pushed Melfina back and proceeded to tear them apart. He got them off of him, kicked one in the chest, backhanded another and broke the nose of the first man. The man clucked his nose and began to say something when Jim roared, "Shut up and bleed! We're leaving now." He turned into the fist of the man he'd kicked. Jim shook his head and then went at him, punching him twice in the gut and finishing with a roundhouse kick that hit so hard, he felt at least two of the man's ribs break. Jim was about to knock the man out when he yelled, "Suzuka set the up!" Jim was taken aback for a moment, which was all the men needed to escape. Jim took a couple deep breaths and became aware of someone behind him. He spun to find Suzuka standing behind him with a smile on her face holding the bag of potatoes. He began to say something when he felt a slight pinch near the base of his neck and fell forward. Suzuka caught Jim as he fell toward the ground, unconscious.


End file.
